Secrets
by Emerald Tide
Summary: When Amu transfers from Sakura High to an all-girls' school, Seiyo, lovesick Nagihiko just has to follow her, even if it means doing what he'd vowed never to do again, cross-dress as his supposed twin Nadeshiko. But when he meets Rima, Amu's jealous friend, his emotions are instantly scrambled up. Before, he thought it was impossible to fall in love with someone else. He was wrong.
1. Breast Substitution: Pillow Feathers

Nagihiko was in big trouble. His mom had found out.

Of course, he had expected this. How else would he go to an all-girls school, dressed as a girl, if his mom didn't find out about the whole thing? But now…

Yes, he was freaking out. The calm, cool Nagi was on the verge of wetting his pants. Now, he was seated in front of his mom, waiting her for to speak.

"What is the meaning of this?" his mom said calmly, holding the package that said in bold letters:

**We are proud to welcome Nadeshiko Fujisaki into Seiyo High. Please come to school when the new term starts on September 5. Enclosed are her school uniform and a list of the necessary supplies required for school.**

Nagihiko started his story, the words coming out rushed and jumbled. "You know how when I was still dressing as Nadeshiko, I met this girl named Amu and became friends with her?" His mom nodded, indicating for him to continue. "Well, when I came back as Nagihiko, I made friends with her again. But now, she transferred to this school. Seiyo High. It's for girls."

Nagihiko's mom tilted her head to the side. "So? You have not explained to me yet. What is the meaning of this?" She pointed at the package. "Surely you are not going to follow this Hinamori girl into Seiyo?"

Nagihiko swallowed. "Actually, that's what I intend to do." He searched for some way, any other way to get out of the situation and couldn't find one. Shoulders slumping in defeat, he said, "I think I'm in love with her. I can't stand it if she's not there. I need her. I transferred out of Sakura High myself," he added, "and enrolled in Seiyo. I took care of it all." He looked at his mom pleadingly. "I get the same education there, and I won't get caught. I promise." Surely she understood? His father had left him and his mother at birth, and she had been heartbroken. She must know what it was like to fall in love.

His mother studied him. "You will not get caught?"

"I won't."

"You will not regret anything?"

"I won't."

"What is the point, if this Hinamori girl thinks you are Nadeshiko? She cannot fall in love with you if you pretend to be a girl."

"I don't care. I just need to be with her. I don't care if she thinks of me as a friend only. I want to spend time with her. Later, I'll tell her my secret." _Way later, _Nagihiko added silently to himself. He wasn't planning on telling Amu his secret anytime soon.

His mom's eyes narrowed, piercing through Nagihiko like an arrow. He held his gaze. Finally, she sighed. "Go," she said softly. Nagihiko's eyes widened, and she said, "Nagihiko, the truth is that I do not think this is a good idea. However, if you mean it when you say you will not regret, I will have no choice but to trust you."

Nagihiko could hardly believe his ears. "Thanks," he said quickly, and stood up to go. His mom called after him, "Take the package! And find all the supplies; they've got to be somewhere in this house!"

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Nagihiko was ready.<p>

He had all the things he needed; pencils, erasers, et cetera. Now all he needed to do was put on the school uniform. Quickly, Nagihiko ducked into the bathroom to change. When he finished and stood in front of the mirror, tying his hair into a ponytail, he looked… perfect. Girly.

But something looked off. He studied his reflection for a second, then noticed what was wrong.

They were in high school now. Even Amu, who had originally been flat-chested, had grown breasts. And he was tall, which meant he should look… well… mature. He couldn't just go to school like this.

He surveyed his room. It was neat and clean, with a bookshelf in the corner, a small (and uncomfortable, actually) bed, and a desk. That was it. But what he noticed first was the pillow at the front of his bed.

Nagihiko Fujisaki's bed was uncomfortable, but Nagihiko Fujisaki's pillow just happened to be huge and fat. And the first thing that flashed into his mind was: pillow feathers. Nagihiko's face flushed.

He was never going to live this down.

* * *

><p><strong>Did this suck? Yes, it did. I'm truly sorry if I lured you in with the summary. (That's what I do best.) But I promise you, chapter one will be better. IT WILL BE BETTER.<strong>

**If you actually, truly like this, PLEASE REVIEW. I know the feeling of not wanting to review. You think, "Oh, everybody else is going to review anyways. There's no point." But if everybody thinks that, then nobody will review. ONE review makes my day; I don't expect much. Even if you don't have a fanfiction account, REVIEW! I beg of you! If you really have nothing to say, just write "Great job!" or something like that; I have lowered my standards a lot since making an account. Oh, poor, pathetic me…**

**If you think this sucks, great. We have something in common. But PLEASE REVIEW. Smash me down. Tell me everything I did wrong so I can fix it. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but not flames. Thanks! :D  
><strong>


	2. Rima Mashiro is Like OMG

Nagihiko stood at the bus stop, thoughts swirling through his head –random, dazed thoughts about cross-dressing, flowers, Italian restaurants, and waterfalls. The one that stood out most, however, was: _I hate bras_.

How did girls stand wearing those torture machines? _Then again,_ Nagihiko thought bitterly, _no _girl_ was ever forced to wear one with pillow feathers in it._ Yup, that was probably why it felt so itchy and tight. He barely even noticed the skirt he was wearing, something that had bugged him badly when he was in elementary school.

The bus came, and Nagihiko stiffened. Was Amu in there?

He needn't have worried; she was nowhere in sight. Relaxing a little, he took a seat and diverted his thoughts from the Contraption of Pain to Amu. How would she react after not seeing Nadeshiko for so long? Would she burst into tears? Nagihiko was quite good with girls, actually, but crying girls were another matter entirely. Would she be happy? That would be the preferred choice, but then she might ask questions. What if she was disappointed? What if she was already happy with her life and didn't need Nadeshiko anymore? He hadn't seen her in a long time. What if she had changed from the pretty, happy girl he had known and liked before? For the whole bus ride, Nagihiko mused silently on everything that had happened so suddenly – thanks to him, of course. Had he been too rash in making his decision?

When the bus stopped, Nagihiko stepped out daintily, trying to see if he could walk like a girl again; he could. _One obstacle down, about nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine to go._ It wasn't a very optimistic way of thinking, but it was true. (Later, of course, those obstacles would swell up and magnify by about a trillion, but Nagihiko didn't know that.)

As directed, Nagihiko went directly to the principal's office. The principal was a red-haired woman by the name of Sanjo-san. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes, of course!" Nagihiko's voice shook, and he mentally berated himself for not practicing talking like a girl, too. Why was he so unprepared?

Luckily, Sanjo-san didn't seem to notice. "All right, that's your locker" – she pointed to a locker close to the girls' bathrooms – "and this is your schedule. You have your books, I assume." Nagihiko nodded. "Alright, go to your first class."

His heart thudded in his chest as he slowly walked toward the room he was assigned. Briefly, he wondered if this was a good idea after all, dressing as a girl all over again.

Then he told himself it was because he was afraid to meet Amu and was chickening out, and he had no right to – it had been his own idea, after all.

Feeling defeated, Nagihiko opened the door, walked in, and told the teacher, "Hello! I'm Nadeshiko Fujisaki, the new transfer student."

He heard a scream.

Amu.

* * *

><p>Lunchtime came, and Nagihiko was forced to endure the questions and endless talk that he knew would come with it.<p>

"I missed you so much! I mean, it's been years! So many things have happened! I can't believe you're finally here, Nade-chan! Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" Nagihiko smiled. He had known Amu would react like this; she hadn't changed since he had last seen her after all.

"I'm sorry, Amu-chan! I was extremely busy with my studies. But I'm glad you're here now!" Nagihiko gave a girlish giggle and congratulated himself; his acting skills had become shockingly good over the years.

"That's okay, but… OMIGOD! I can't believe you're back! I just _cannot_believe it!" Amu started to sparkle – figuratively, of course, but there might as well have been light coming from her eyes. Nagihiko stepped back, all the while wondering if Amu really knew how much her glitter-attack mesmerized him – though he didn't really know whether that was good or bad. In this case, definitely bad.

"Amu-chan?" A different voice. Soft, slightly suspicious, childlike.

Nagihiko broke out of his trance and turned, to see a girl he didn't recognize. She was childlike, with wavy golden hair and tawny eyes that were currently narrowed.

Rima studied the flustered violet-haired girl curiously, a bit annoyed. Who was she, and what was she doing with Amu? HER Amu, her best friend? "Amu-chan, who is that?"

Amu was unaware of the tense mood around them. "Oh, I forgot to tell you about her! Nade-chan, this is Rima Mashiro, my new friend, and Rima-chan, this is Nade-chan! The one who went to Europe! The one I told you about! She was the new transfer student, can you believe it?" Her eyes shone with happiness.

Rima blinked in surprise. _Nadeshiko. Here. In person._ _This_ was Nadeshiko Fujisaki? After getting over her initial shock, she said quietly, "Amu-chan, can I talk to her for a second?"

Still oblivious, Amu nodded and walked away, calling, "I'll go get my lunch!"

A silence followed.

Nagihiko looked at Rima with a slight trepidation; somehow, he knew he wouldn't like what she had to say. Thinking he should just act clueless, he said cheerfully, "What did you want to talk to me about?" _Wow._ His acting skills almost blew himself away. How could he act so happy and nonchalant when he felt so uneasy?

\Rima looked at him and tilted her head to the side, her eyes impassive. "You're Nadeshiko Fujisaki, aren't you." It wasn't really a question, just a statement.

"Yeah." _Keep acting clueless_. "But Amu-chan calls me Nade-chan instead of Nadeshiko, because she thinks it's cute. It's a nice nickname, you think?" He needed to pursue a career in acting, soon.

Rima gritted her teeth. Not only was this girl sickeningly sweet and nice, she was almost as damn _naïve_ as Amu. _Remain calm_, she told herself. "_The_ Nadeshiko Fujisaki. The one who ditched Amu for dancing."

He could definitely see where this was going now. "Well," he said, blinking innocuously, "I didn't really d –"

"Oh, stop acting so innocent," Rima hissed quietly, dangerously. "You ditched Amu, and for what? To go to Europe to _improve your dancing_, when you could easily have done that in Japan. And me? I became friends with her. I stayed with her this whole time. I never left her for something stupid like _dance_. And yet, she goes on and on about your dancing, your twin, how awesome you are, your nonexistent _life_. You don't deserve her. I do." She turned away. "That's all."

"Wait!" Nagihiko called.

She spun around again, annoyance visible on her face. "Yes?"

Nagihiko paused. "Never mind," he said quietly, still replaying the past events in his head.

"That's what I thought. Are you going to come? Because Amu-chan will want you to eat lunch with us, even if I feel the opposite way." Without waiting for an answer, Rima walked away.

And the one thing Nagihiko had not anticipated at all had happened: a rivalry for Amu.

* * *

><p>An awkward silence hovered around the two as they walked toward the cafeteria. For Nagihiko, at least. For Rima, it was a defiant refusal to speak or have anything to do with the other. When they finally got to the table where Amu was sitting, Nagihiko let out a sigh of relief as said girl's voice washed over him. "I have so many questions to ask you! How did you find out I was here? How's Nagihiko?"<p>

Nagihiko's heart skipped a beat at the last question. However, he was interrupted by Rima. "Oh, who cares about her twin?" she snapped, her voice oddly harsh. "Why don't you ask about _her_? Her twin's just peachy! Why aren't you asking about _Nadeshiko_, and how she's _feeling_, and how she managed to find you even though she didn't know you transferred, and – oh, does she have jet lag? Oh, poor Nadeshiko, having to take a plane all the way to Europe and back! She must be feeling so _fatigued_!" She ran off, leaving the two staring after her.

Rushing into a bathroom, Rima had never felt more confused as she did then. Why was she acting like this? She had known it would make Amu upset. Amu had been happy…

That was it.

Amu had been happy.

And she didn't want Amu to be happy, because it wasn't because of her. What kind of friend was she?

Rima knew she was selfish. She knew she was self-centered, and wanted Amu all to herself. She knew she wanted Amu to be her best friend, and her best friend only. But was that such a bad thing?

_Yes_, she told herself._ It is._

Yet small conversation she and Amu had had before made its way into the front of her mind. Even today…

_"Oh, I forgot to tell you about her!"_

That was code for _"I didn't think finding you after class and telling you Nadeshiko came back was important enough, so I forgot."_

How many times had Rima zoned out on Amu talking about how great "Nade-chan" was? And now Nadeshiko Fujisaki was here, _here_, in person, which meant Amu might as well have told Rima, "Get out of my life."

Amu had helped her come out of her shell.

Amu had helped her stop seeing the world in black and white, and actually see color.

Amu had helped her truly live, helped her truly _feel_.

And now, she was going to lose Amu to some girl who had left her and come back on a whim, some girl who obviously didn't deserve her?

Rima bit hard down on her lip, fighting the strange sensation that had come to her eyes. Her nose and throat felt weird too… she wondered why?

And as Rima Mashiro began to cry for the first time in years, she made a vow.

_I won't lose to you, Nadeshiko._

Because if she did, she would lose the most precious thing in her life.

Amu.

* * *

><p><strong>OMG WORST CHAPTER <em>EVER<em>. I think I forgot how to write over spring break. This is a competitor for The Worst Chapter ShugoCharaFan1234 Has Written. Wait, never mind. I've written much worse than this ;P**

**I apologize, I forgot to warn you guys about the random updates. For example, I could update 20 chapters in one day, then not update for five years. I'm not exaggerating. So if I haven't updated for a long time, don't just assume I'm dead, because that's what I used to think when I was new to fanfiction...**

**The point is, please do not try to track me down, blackmail me into giving you the rest of the story, and strangle me when there's, like, a huge one-year yawning hole of time between two chapters. Just read some much-more-steadily-updated fanfiction that is tons better than anything I could dream to write.**

_I will be changing this rating to T._ **NO, THERE WILL NOT BE ANYTHING EXTREMELY M-RATED-WORTHY INAPPROPRIATE. So please, do not start going, "Ooh, she's changing the rating! (Yes, I am female. Did I really need to tell you that?) That must mean there's going to be some INAPPROPRIATE STUFF now *wink wink nudge nudge*" It's just because I mapped out the story a little bit more, and there is stuff that might make eight-year olds wince slightly. SLIGHTLY. THAT IS ALL. THAT IS ALL. Do I need to repeat that? THAT IS ALL. Then again, most of you reading this are probably over eight. Still… just in case. JUST IN CASE. JUST IN CASE. Do I need to repeat that? JUST IN CASE. I think I've made my point clear now – just to give you horny Rimahiko fangirls a clue (gasp, I'm a horny Rimahiko fangirl too), it involves accidental kissing and talk of being lesbian. (I'll leave you to imagine the scene where that happens ;P) That's all. Nothing else.**

**Oh, and I've reread my other author's notes, and realized I sounded like my little 6-year-old brother on steroids. (Don't ask.) I don't only care about reviews, okay? (Even though I certainly sound like it.) I want you to enjoy my stories, and that's all. So… just… review if you feel like it's worth the time. :)**

**Bye!**


	3. Amu Has No Idea

Whoever said Rima didn't favor P.E. class that much might as well have said she loved it. Because in her eyes, they were the same thing.

Rima abhorred, loathed, flat-out _hated_ P.E. Once her archenemy, it had become second to Nadeshiko. And Nadeshiko plus a class that taught her to physically strain her body to do horrific, practically unviable things was _hell_.

Yes, Nadeshiko Fujisaki was in her P.E. class. And Amu wasn't.

So now, with nothing to do, she was staring at Nadeshiko, trying to find out her weakness (even though she knew it was impossible to find out someone's weakness from the outside).

Nagihiko was slowly getting nervous. He could feel Rima's eyes on his back, and somehow, he could tell she wasn't exactly planning the best "Welcome back from Europe" gift. He was almost grateful when the teacher began calling her name and he had an excuse to turn around, smile sweetly at Rima, and say pleasantly, "The teacher's calling you, Rima-chan."

Rima's eyes widened, before she snapped, "Call me Mashiro-san," and turned to the substitute. "What did you want me for?" she said angrily – a substitute was always a chance to act (or at least talk) floutingly, something nobody could ever get away with when there was a normal teacher.

The young woman smiled a bit nervously. "Um, can you tell me the difference between –"

"No." Rima turned away.

Quickly, Nagihiko intervened. "The difference between baseball and softball is merely…"

Rima began to zone out. _Damn Nadeshiko…_ she thought, suddenly wishing she had answered the question or at least bothered to hear what it was.

It was just a stupid question about sports, but in all, it was the same thing: Rima had been upstaged again.

By Nadeshiko.

Finally, they actually had to play a sport; the teacher had chosen basketball for that day. Momentarily, Nagihiko wondered if he should play to his full potential. _No,_ he thought. As Nadeshiko, he had been extremely bad at sports, and he couldn't risk Amu finding out anything. Now, he wished he had just pretended to be a very athletic girl when he had acted as Nadeshiko in Sakura Elementary, instead of one that couldn't play sports to save her life. Well, that was what he got for his stereotypes.

He soon found out his strange, newfound acting potential reached far beyond just pretending to be happy or sad. He could be _bad_ at something he had always been good at ever since the day he'd held a basketball. He could completely miss the hoop and pretend he had tried his best. Soon, he was playing even worse than Rima, who was watching almost exultantly.

Rima could barely believe her luck. Was this Nadeshiko's weakness? Sports? No, she didn't look especially embarrassed at not being able to play sports well, but maybe Rima could get a jibe or two in. Then again, she knew Amu wouldn't judge anyone by their athletic ability – if she did, Rima wouldn't have become friends with her in the first place. And Amu probably knew about Nadeshiko's athletic ability anyway, knowing her so well. But all that mattered to Rima at the moment was making Nadeshiko feel bad. Smiling as the class finally ended, she walked up to Nadeshiko and said deliberately, "So you suck at sports, huh? How come you're able to dance? I would imagine you tripping over your feet, with your inability to throw a ball two yards."

Nagihiko couldn't help smiling to himself. _If only you knew…_ He said coolly, "Oh, I've never been that athletic. But dancing's different. It's like I'm in a whole new world, like I'm alone and dancing and I are one. It's a nice feeling." Actually, he was referring to both sports and dancing, but Rima didn't need to know that. The aforesaid girl frowned, but Nagihiko quickly walked past her. His next class was something he was good at, Japanese, and he was looking forward to it.

This whole situation might not be so bad after all.

* * *

><p>Rima smirked to herself as she saw Nadeshiko, still unsuspecting, come closer to her. Her next plan was a simple one: embarrass her. As she came, Rima stuck out her foot, still clutching her books in her hand. Predictably, Nadeshiko tripped, somehow managing to grab her books before they scattered all over the floor.<p>

Rima giggled. "Oops, I didn't mean to do that! I'm so sorry, are you okay?" She bent down to "help" her up, but as she did, she gave Nadeshiko a hard shove, sending her books toppling out of her hands. "Gosh, Nadeshiko, why did you drop your books, too? Is tripping _not_ enough?" She stood up and began to laugh spitefully.

_Never underestimate Rima Mashiro_, she thought triumphantly. She was _not_going to lose.

_But how are you going to win Amu by embarrassing Nadeshiko? _She pushed away those thoughts. _I'm going to show her who's boss, that's how._

Nagihiko's eyes widened. He had misjudged her; this girl was vicious. Not knowing how to react, he stood up – and spotted a piece of paper on the ground. He couldn't help but grin as he picked it up. "Oh, that's okay, Rima-chan! Is this yours?" Nagihiko's voice was loud, yet somehow managed to sound remarkably natural; it practically caused everyone in the hallway to turn at the sound.

Rima's mouth dropped open as she realized what it was. She grabbed it back, face flushed, and stuffed it in her binder. "Don't worry, sixty percent isn't that bad. But I could tutor you, if you like," Nagihiko said jauntily, trying hard not to laugh. Rima Mashiro would rather eat worms than be tutored by him.

Rima was practically steaming. "You _bitch_," she hissed, and stalked away.

Nagihiko just stared after her, barely refraining from calling out, "Look who's talking!"

_You want to play it that way, Rima-chan? Then game on._

Maybe, for the first time in years, he could have some fun.

That was an interesting thought…

* * *

><p>Needless to say, Rima was furious. It wasn't that she really cared whether anybody thought she got good grades or not. She had never been the best at math, after all. But it was <em>Nadeshiko<em>…

She quickly ripped a piece of binder paper from her binder, scribbled something on it, folded it a few times, and passed it to Amu, who sat next to her. Luckily, Nadeshiko wasn't in this class, which meant she couldn't watch them.

Amu, who had been working hard on an assignment, looked up. When she saw the note, she quickly unfolded it, only to feel confused. The note said: _Do you like Nadeshiko? _What did Rima mean? Of course she liked Nadeshiko. Nadeshiko was her best friend! How could Rima think she didn't like Nadeshiko? She passed the note back.

_Of course I like Nadeshiko! _Rima sighed and wrote something again.

_Why do you like her?_

_Well, she's nice and sweet, and she's friendly. And she understands me. Why are you asking?_

Rima frowned. Nice… sweet… friendly… understanding… Was Rima nice? Well, _sometimes_ she was. Definitely not with Nadeshiko, though. And sweet… well, Rima looked sweet, but she wasn't. What was so good about being sweet, anyway? "Sweet" meant "fake". As for friendly…

Rima suddenly caught herself, and her face turned red. _She was trying to copy Nadeshiko._ She was trying to find out what Amu liked about her, and then copy her. How could she sink so low? How could she consider doing that for even a second? She wasn't just some stupid wannabe! She bit her lip and wrote: _Yeah, that's how she acts with you, but she practically told the whole hall today that I got a sixty on a math test!_She wasn't lying, was she? She was just leaving out facts.

The note came back in a second. _She didn't do that on purpose, though, right? I was there! She was trying to help you, it wasn't her fault people were listening!_

Rima gritted her teeth in irritation. Then she read the note and realized: Amu had been there, which meant Amu had seen Rima trip Nadeshiko, and thought it was on accident. Could she be any more clueless? Sighing, she wrote back: _Never mind. Do you want to go to the mall on Saturday?_ Rima didn't really like shopping, but Amu would be happy.

_Yeah, definitely! Can Nadeshiko come?_

She should've known. _Actually –_

Before she could continue, though, the teacher was at her desk. "Either give me that piece of paper or throw it away. Now."

And in the end, Rima never got to tell Amu she didn't want Nadeshiko to come. And it wasn't like she could refuse, being the one who had suggested it.

She groaned and laid her head down on her desk.

A shopping trip with Nadeshiko?

_Shoot me. Now._

* * *

><p><strong>Gasp. I updated <em>again<em>, on the _same day_, because this is one of the weird days where I update a lot. I think I'll spend the rest of the day writing. Oh, I forgot to tell you why I stopped indenting. It's because the tab button on my computer is broken. I'm not kidding *sob sob***

**Um… was this a filler chapter? Yeah, it was. Nothing interesting really happened, besides Nagihiko deciding to fight back for Amu. Sorry, I myself hate filler chapters, yet I somehow end up writing them…**

**Oh, and speaking of Nagihiko, he's going to be a bit OOC in later chapters. No, he won't tell Rima straight-out that she's horrible and doesn't deserve to live or anything. He's just going to… wait, no spoilers. I always end up giving spoilers in the author's note. Anyway, don't kill me if he does something he wouldn't usually do in canon, because it's essential for the plot. Otherwise I wouldn't make him OOC, okay? I'm not that horrible. I _hate_ people who absolutely slaughter Nagi's character. (Don't worry, I won't slaughter it. I'll just… tweak it a little. Okay, I'm done making excuses now.)**

**But seriously, probably the worst thing about writing this is that I have to switch back between "Nadeshiko" and "Nagihiko" and "she" and "he", because I'm alternating from Rima's thoughts to Nagi's thoughts. Damn, it's so_annoying_…**

**So now Rima, Nagi, and Amu are going on a shopping trip! Needless to say, it will be disastrous. With, of course, Rima feeling left out again. Poor Rima…**

**Oh, and about Nagi's acting skills – those will play a _huge_ role in the story. Yup, without them the whole story would fall apart. When I thought of this, I kept getting reminded of how when Rima and Nagi first met in canon, Nagi said he was "good at acting too", yet I didn't see how he was good at acting at all.**

**OMG, I just gave out two spoilers and didn't even notice it. (In case you didn't notice, the first one is for the shopping trip being disastrous and Rima feeling left out, and the other one is for how Nagi's talent for acting is important to the story.)**

**I'm going to stop blabbering now, so… bye and happy reading!**


	4. Malls Can Be Dangerous

It was five o'clock, Amu was calling him (he knew because of the caller ID on his cell phone), and Nagihiko was having an intense inner debate with himself – one that needed to be resolved quickly, before Amu hung up or the phone stopped ringing. The problem was quite simple, actually, but anyone with two identities would be paranoid, and Nagihiko was paranoid. Well, it was better than being paranoid about being paranoid, or being paranoid about being paranoid about being paranoid, or even being paranoid about being paranoid about being paranoid about being paranoid, so he just let himself be freely paranoid without being any more paranoids.

The problem was that he didn't know which voice he should use, the Nadeshiko one or his normal one. When he'd finally decided to use the Nadeshiko voice, the phone had stopped ringing, and Amu had left a message.

Great.

He decided to listen to the message. As soon as he pressed the button, Amu's voice came out, saying, _"Nade-chan, do you want to go to the mall on Saturday? Rima-chan invited us! Can you call back? Thanks a lot! Bye!"_

Nagihiko was instantly paranoid. If Rima had invited _him_, she definitely had some trick up her sleeve. Then again… he couldn't disappoint Amu, could he? Sighing, he pressed "Call back". As soon as Amu picked up, he said brightly, "Hello, Amu-chan! Sorry, I was in the bathroom!" There it was again: his acting. It was almost scary – like a gift sent down to him at just the right moment.

Amu smiled at hearing Nadeshiko's voice. "That's okay!" she said just as brightly. "So, can you go to the mall on Saturday? Or are you busy with dancing? I really hope you can come!"

"Sure, I'm not busy that day. Did Rima-chan really invite me? I thought she didn't like me that much." He decided to sneak the question in.

"Oh, I_ think_ she said you could come, but I'm not positive. I'm so glad!" Ugh, that was worse than a definite "yes" or "no". He would just have to be careful.

"Alright, bye!" Nagihiko hung up.

Now all he had to do was worry about surviving a shopping trip that was going to happen in two days.

* * *

><p>Rima was in a completely foul mood the next day. She wasn't <em>angry<em>, exactly, but she felt like she was dreading something, and she knew exactly what that "something" was.

Saturday. She had brooded over it so much that night she had completely forgotten to do her social studies homework. Now, she was killing herself trying to do it at lunch. At least it was the last class in the day (the one with only Amu but not Nadeshiko), so she could try to do it in her other classes when the teacher wasn't watching.

As she scribbled answers, Amu was doing the same next to her – she had forgotten to do it too. Big surprise. Nadeshiko was sitting next to Amu, whispering answers in her ear and pointedly ignoring Rima; it annoyed and frustrated her to no end. Finally she snapped, "Amu-chan, what's the answer to this question?" She actually knew what it was, but she wanted Amu to notice her.

Nadeshiko opened her mouth, but Rima said emphatically, "I said _Amu-chan_."

"I wasn't going to give you the answer. I was just wondering why you sound so angry. Did anything happen? You know you can count on your _friends_ to help you out. Don't you agree, Amu-chan?" She turned to Amu, who had turned back to her social studies worksheet and was glaring at a particularly difficult problem. "Oh, looks like she doesn't! But I thought she was your friend, wasn't she? Why is she choosing a social studies worksheet over you, then?" Nadeshiko said the last part in a whisper, leaning towards Rima and smiling in a cloying way that was meant for her to know it wasn't a real smile.

Rima's eyes widened, and before she knew it, she had stumbled back, her back hitting the wall. "Don't touch me," she whispered.

Nadeshiko said quietly, "I wasn't going to. I was just saying, it might be a bad idea to compete with me. Call it a truce. We'll share Amu." She grimaced. "You're rubbing off on me, aren't you? Now I'm referring to Amu as a thing. She isn't an object to be _shared_ –"

"I'll never give up. You don't deserve Amu at all."

"There you go again, talking about her as if she's a toy." Truthfully, Nagihiko was enjoying this a little. "Whatever. I'll win. Did you know I've never lost anything important? Amu may be important to you, but she's just as important to me." Turning away, he went back to telling Amu the answers to the homework – but not before he saw the look on her face. And that was when he realized that she was scared.

And at that moment, Nagihiko felt a little guilty – but not guilty enough.

If it was a war for anything else, he would have let Rima have her way a long time ago. If it was a war for Amu, he was going to win.

* * *

><p>Social studies class had come and gone, and Rima had stayed in a daze the whole time. She kept replaying Nadeshiko's words in her head.<p>

_"Did you know I've never lost anything important? Amu may be important to you, but she's just as important to me."_

She had been frightened then, to tell the truth. Nadeshiko had sounded strangely serious compared to her other words; her tone had lost the honeyed layer it always had had before. But now, she just felt determined, more determined than she ever had before. She repeated the same vow she had made to herself.

_I won't lose to you, Nadeshiko_.

As she was walking through the halls, about to leave the school building, something on the bulletin board caught her eye.

It said: _Basketball tryouts next week! Sign up here!_ A list of names followed, and there was a pen taped on the paper.

Rima knew firsthand that basketball in Seiyo was a big deal, unlike basketball in most schools. You didn't sign up for tryouts unless you were serious. Unless you were positive you were better than anyone else, unless you were positive you would make the team. And not only did you have to be good at the sport, you had to be_confident_. To set that rule in stone, the whole school was herded out to the basketball courts to watch people try out. It was almost, maybe more important than an actual basketball game. Passing the tryouts and getting on the basketball team meant instant popularity. And if you did badly in the tryouts, you'd spend the rest of your time at school trying to live it down. People would taunt you, talk loudly about how horrible you were.

Oh, and if you wrote your name on that sheet, you couldn't back out at the last minute.

An evil grin spread on Rima's face. Picking up the pen, she wrote _Nadeshiko Fujisaki_ on the tryouts sheet.

* * *

><p>It was Saturday.<p>

Time for the mall trip Rima had suggested. The one that would be her doom. The moment Rima woke up, she felt, to her mortification, terror. Then she realized that Nadeshiko would never pull something on her. Not in front of Amu.

No, she couldn't act afraid. Maybe she could act like _she_ was planning something. Yes, that was better. Feeling just a little more relaxed, she yawned, stood up, and narrowed her eyes at her closet.

_I need something pretty._

The moment she thought that, her humiliation doubled. She was trying to beat Nadeshiko, not impress her! Yet… no, she wasn't trying to impress anyone. Rima was trying to outshine Nadeshiko, even if it was something small like clothes.

Damn, she was becoming neurotic. Rima decided to just go with whatever. After all, did it really matter if Nadeshiko had cuter clothes than her? After about fifteen minutes spent trying to tame her hair, she stuffed on a white hairband and walked to the mall.

Nadeshiko was already there, decked out in a pink miniskirt and a frilly lavender blouse. "Hello, Rima-chan!"

Rima immediately snapped, "Call me Mashiro-san."

Just then, Amu came. "Hi, guys!" she said breathlessly. "Let's go shop!"

And so the two of them were dragged along by Amu, running from store to store, buying about the same things as Amu did. Nagihiko had a little smile on his face._I love this about her_.

Rima, however, couldn't stand it anymore. "Um… do you think we should split up and shop?" Even if this was Amu, she would _not_ be dragged around all day.

Amu smiled. "Yeah, sure! I wouldn't want you to just follow me around the whole time. You guys can go shop together!" And before the either of them could protest, she had entered another store.

Rima muttered, "This whole thing is stupid."

Nagihiko raised an eyebrow. "You were the one who wanted to go to the mall."

"Yes, but that was because I thought only Amu and I would go. Instead, she invited you."

"Very shocking." He hadn't meant for it to sound patronizing, but it did.

Rima's eyes widened, and she said almost taciturnly, "I think we would be better shopping on our own." Before Nagihiko could even move a muscle, she had left.

Rima was ready to kill herself. When had she become so… so… stupidly…_sensitive_? Yet whichever way she looked at it, what Nadeshiko was implying was right. Amu was bound to invite Nadeshiko. As of now, Amu liked Nadeshiko a whole lot more than Rima. Nadeshiko had had a head start, she had to admit.

But Rima would win either way.

She _had_ to win.

Rima had become so dazed in her thoughts that she didn't notice she had wandered far away from her original location. When she finally noticed her surroundings, she sucked in a breath. She had never been to this part of the mall before. Quickly, she tried to retrace her footsteps, but ended up in a completely different place she had been before.

Panicking now, she ran back to where she had been before, but she ended up in _another_ completely different place that she hadn't seen before.

Rima was lost.

* * *

><p><strong>I updated again. COME ON PEOPLE CONGRATULATE ME! I UPDATED LIKE TWO BILLION CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY~<strong>

**I need to work on the next chapter right now, no time to freak out and start ranting in the author's note like usual XD**


	5. Rima Gets Out of the Maze of Doom

Nagihiko stared at his own hands, feeling both apprehensive and bored at the same time. Amu had ditched him, Rima had ditched him, and now he had absolutely nothing to do. Frowning, he decided to just generally shop for girls' clothes, not caring whether they were pretty or not. Amu had come to his house a few times, but had never actually been in his _room_ – for a reason, of course. Maybe if the situation ever popped up, he could show Amu a closetful of girls' clothes. It could never hurt to be too prepared.

Better safe than sorry.

After about an hour, his bags were practically filled to the brim with a strange assortment of multicolored dresses and chemises. Nagihiko was forced to admit to himself that he had no fashion sense at all. Then again, when had a boy needed fashion sense?

In this situation.

He decided he had enough clothes for now. Maybe he should find Amu so they could have lunch. And Rima was bound to be with Amu; that was the only reasonable place she could go. Nagihiko took out his cell phone and texted Amu.

_Hi, where are you? It's almost time for lunch. Let's go to that pizza place on the second floor._

Amu texted back immediately. The message said: _Sure! I'm at Victoria's Secrets, but I'll meet you there in about five minutes!_

Nagihiko snapped his cell phone shut and went a few floors down to the restaurant he had mentioned earlier, where Amu was sitting there waiting for him. She grinned. "Hey, Nade-chan!"

He smiled, then frowned. "Where's Rima-chan?" he asked curiously.

"Isn't she with you?"

"Oh," Nagihiko said quickly. "Well, we split up to go shopping on our own, so I assumed she went back to you."

Amu shook her head. "I'll text her." She pressed a few buttons on her cell phone and waited.

Five minutes later, Rima still had not replied. "Do you think she didn't bring her cell phone?"

"Let's go look for her and tell her it's lunchtime," Amu suggested. Nagihiko nodded in agreement, and they exited the restaurant.

* * *

><p>Rima had never been more truly frightened in her life.<p>

Then again, she'd never been lost. Ever. But she was lost now, with no escape. It was like being trapped in a labyrinth (a huge labyrinth with lots of stores and lots of people buying things from them) with absolutely no clue where the exit was. Before, getting lost had been a situation unfamiliar and distant to her. Now she was in that situation.

Trembling, she tapped a woman on the shoulder. "Do you have a cell phone? Can I borrow it?" she said quietly. The woman smiled and nodded, handing over a black iPhone.

Rima quickly typed in Amu's phone number and held it to her ear.

* * *

><p>It had been a few minutes, and Amu and Nagihiko still hadn't found Rima. Suddenly, Amu's phone began to ring. She flipped it open and frowned. "I don't know this number."<p>

Nagihiko looked over Amu's shoulder. "Yeah…"

"What if it's a stalker? Or one of those crazy people that pick a random number in the phone book to advertise their products?"

"Oh, yeah, I hate those too. Should you pick up?" All the while they were talking, the phone was ringing.

"But I remember some guys were prank-calling people, and they called my number. Then they tried to confuse me, and it worked. They started saying in this really spooky voice, 'I know your secret. If you don't want me to tell, come to the nearest oak tree at midnight. We'll make a deal.' And we don't even _have _any oak trees in this area. But it really freaked me out, and it wasted so many of my minutes in the end." Amu sighed.

"Then maybe you –" Nagihiko's eyes widened, and he nearly slapped himself. How could he have been so stupid? "Amu, Rima doesn't have her cell phone! Maybe she borrowed one from a stranger or something!"

Amu gasped. "Oh, yeah!" She fumbled with her phone, but it had stopped ringing. She looked at it, disappointed. "I guess we have to find her after all…" She suddenly noticed Nagihiko staring at her with a strange expression on his face. "What?"

"Amu-chan, _call the number back_!"

Nagihiko sighed.

* * *

><p>Rima hung up, more than a little nervous. Where was Amu? Had she been kidnapped or something? Rima's imagination started to go wild. Shaking slightly, she handed the phone back to the woman without a word and ran off.<p>

Just then, the phone began ringing again. "Wait!" the woman called. But Rima was already gone.

* * *

><p>Amu heard a voice on the other end say, "Hello?" But it wasn't Rima's.<p>

"Excuse me, did someone named Rima Mashiro ask to borrow your phone a few seconds ago?" Then, realizing Rima had probably not told her name, she said quickly, "She's a short girl with long wavy blond hair."

"Oh, she ran off a few seconds ago! I don't know where she is, but I think she was lost."

Amu hung up. "She's lost," she whispered to Nagihiko in a melodramatic, shocked voice that made him somehow feel like the world was about to end. "She's_lost_! This is my entire fault!" Amu looked like she was going to cry.

Nagihiko was dead. Crying girls meant a hopeless, awkward, somewhat tactless Nagihiko that didn't know whether to comfort said girl, just stay there, or walk away. Probably not the third choice, but then again, who knew? How could he be so good with happy girls and be so horrible with them with a change of mood? He had to do something before the waterworks came on. "Let's go look for her then!" he said quickly.

"How are we supposed to look for her when she's running around looking for_us_? But we can't just stay here either!" Oh, no. Oh, _no_. She was going to cry, and Nagihiko was going to die. (Hey, that rhymed!)

"Do you think she can find her way out? Has she ever been to the mall before?"

"Never with me." And she began to cry, and Nagihiko began to die. (A poet that knows it!) He tried to collect himself.

"Let's g-go and look for her. W-we can't just stand there."

"Okay, Nade-chan," Amu whispered, and began to cry harder. And all of a sudden, she hugged him. Hard.

Half of Nagihiko was enjoying this. And the other half would have paid anything at that moment to be gruesomely murdered.

* * *

><p>Was it possible to die of fear? It seemed entirely plausible at that moment. Rima was lost, Amu might have been murdered for all she knew, and <em>if<em> she had been murdered, Nadeshiko would probably have run off. She had ditched Amu for Europe and dancing, why not when there was a chance she could die? If, _if_ she could get out of this place and if Amu was really dead, she would kill Nadeshiko with her bare hands. But that was if she got out of here and if Amu had really been murdered, and she was not out and didn't know whether Amu had been murdered. Or worse, what if she had been raped and was scarred for life? Oh, then Nadeshiko would have run off – if she had been able to. If she hadn't, Rima would not cause her any bodily harm. If she had, Rima would still kill her with her bare hands. But again, that was _if_ she could get out of this… innocent-looking maze. If, if, if, if, if, if, if, if, if, if. Rima Mashiro was going to die from the sudden attack of ifs that had plagued her brain.

Her imagination was going crazy. If she had been five, she would have imagined Amu being eaten alive by monsters or aliens, and Nadeshiko somehow managing to escape. Or maybe there _were_ aliens, ones that she didn't know about, and they had come to earth on this day and started taking over by killing Amu? And what if Nadeshiko _had_ escaped? And Rima somehow managed to hide as the aliens took over, and she was doomed to wander the mall forever while Nadeshiko joined the aliens in their evil plots? Or worse, what if she was made a slave? Or they just killed her immediately? Or what if she was a toy to them, and they tortured her day and night, and Nadeshiko just laughed and said "Serves you right…"

Rima rushed into a bathroom, sat down on a toilet, and started to cry.

* * *

><p>Amu had finally stopped crying (to Nagihiko's immense relief) and they had started looking for Rima again. Nagihiko was worried. Rima wasn't exactly his favorite girl in the world, but he knew what it was like to be afraid. And almost an hour had passed. What was she feeling like now?<p>

Amu was obviously feeling the same way, if not more – Rima was her friend, after all. After some time, she said quietly, "Um… Nade-chan… can I go to the bathroom for a second?"

Nagihiko shrugged. "Sure, but make it quick, okay? We need to look for Rima-chan." He smiled at her, desperately hoping she wouldn't cry again.

They walked into the nearest restroom. All of a sudden, Nagihiko stopped. "Amu-chan, do you hear something?"

At that moment, he could swear the sound stopped. Then, a stall opened, and Rima walked out, a stunned look on her face.

There was a shocked silence, then Amu screamed, "Rima-chan!" and ran towards her.

"Don't touch me!"

That was enough to stop Amu in her tracks. "What were you guys _doing_? Why weren't you looking for me? Why didn't you pick up when I called? Did you not even care that I was missing?" Rima felt like she was going to scream. Here they were, not even bothering to find her! She was grateful she wasn't a messy crier; it wouldn't do her any good for Nadeshiko to know she had been crying the whole time.

Nagihiko came to Amu's defense. "We _were_ –"

"Shut _up_! I hate you both!" She bit her lip hard. "Where's the exit? I'm getting out of here."

"Rima-chan –" Nagihiko began.

"Call me Mashiro-san! _And where is the exit?_ Oh, I'm just going to ask someone else." She stalked out of the room, hearing Amu burst into tears behind her.

She didn't care.

Rima was never going to talk to either of them again.

* * *

><p><strong>OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. THIS IS THE LAST ONE I'M GOING TO DO. MY FINGERS FEEL LIKE THEY'RE FALLING OFF.<strong>

**You guys better be grateful. XD**


	6. Utau's Obsession

Rima and Amu had made up.

How could they not? It was unavoidable. On Sunday, Amu had come to her house – alone, without Nadeshiko – and given her a bunch of clothes for free – and they all fit her – not to mention pleaded for Rima to forgive her. That, plus Rima's strong feelings (no, not like that) for Amu, meant instant clemency… if you could even call it that. She had been debating about forgetting the whole thing anyways. Sabotaging their friendship wasn't worth it. She had just been too angry, and acted irrationally; besides, it was over, wasn't it? So she had smiled at Amu, and they'd spent the afternoon together making cookies at Rima's house. Not that they'd really had any luck.

But evidently Amu had told Nadeshiko immediately, because the moment she had arrived at school, Nadeshiko had given her one of those infuriating, _absolutely innocent_ smiles and said in one of those infuriating, _absolutely innocent_ voices, "I just _knew_ you two would make up in no time!"

Needless to say, Rima had been annoyed all week.

But today she wasn't annoyed. Today, she was elated. Today she was absolutely joyful. Today, she had come out of her house confidently with a serene smile on her face, not brooding about how to eliminate Nadeshiko next.

Nadeshiko was already going to be eliminated.

Today was the day of the basketball tryouts.

* * *

><p>Nagihiko knew there was something wrong when Rima came up to him first thing in the morning and said sweetly, "Good morning, Nade-chan!"<p>

He nearly choked, but managed to compose himself. Giving her a dazzling smile, he said, "Hi, Rima-chan! You seem cheerful today!"

The smile slipped off Rima's face as she stared at Nadeshiko in disbelief. Was it mentally possible for someone to be that ignorant? How could she realize nothing was going on?_Well,_ she thought, _it doesn't matter. She'll get it later. _Smiling again, she said casually, "Oh, you should know." Before Nadeshiko could reply, she quickly changed the subject. "Where's Amu?"

"I think she's absent today…"

Even better. Amu watching Nadeshiko getting tormented wouldn't do the situation any good. Humming, she waved and skipped to her first class, leaving Nagihiko there feeling doomed.

Smiling, humming, waving, and skipping. And that underlying smugness that said, "You're dead."

The underlying smugness was right.

Nagihiko just couldn't wait to see the horror today would present.

* * *

><p>P.E. would be replaced by the basketball tryouts, which was another good thing for Rima. At lunch, Rima was about to look for Amu when she realized she was absent.<p>

Great.

As if on cue, Nadeshiko literally materialized by her side, whispering into her ear slyly, "Do you want to eat lunch with me, Rima-chan?"

"Eek!" Nagihiko just grinned at this. He had decided that if he was going to die today, he might as well enjoy the rest of his time alive – and that involved teasing, lots of it. "Call me Mashiro-san!"

"Sure, Rima-chan," he said idly, fighting the urge to laugh. "Whatever you say… are you coming, or will you eat lunch by yourself, _Ri-ma-chan_ – no, Rima? Can I call you Rima? We are friends, aren't we, Rima? Thanks, _Ri-ma_!" He emphasized the syllables, making Rima even madder, and before she had a chance to react, sauntered off.

"_Were you even listening_ – hey, wait up!" Damn, she wanted to rip this girl's head off.

"So you are eating lunch with me? Thanks, Rima." Oh, Nadeshiko definitely wasn't hiding her intentions now.

"Shut up. I'm only doing this because Amu's absent. And call me Mashiro-san – hey, _listen to me, will you_!" Nadeshiko had turned to her lunch already, her eyes gleaming.

"Oh, I'm so glad Baaya made my favorite kind of sushi!" The remark was intended to make Rima angry, but instead she just stared.

"You have a maid make lunch for you?"

"Oh, didn't Amu-chan tell you?"

"She said you had maids, but…" This girl was spoiled rotten too. A spoiled, dense best-friend-stealer. Oh, she definitely deserved what was coming to her. A sweet smile appeared on Rima's face.

Something about her smile made Nagihiko feel horribly restless. "Um… Mashiro-san?" He realized too late he hadn't called her "Rima"; the smile grew bigger.

"Yes, _Nade_?"

Nagihiko flinched at the name; of course his acting skills had to betray him now. "Oh, what's wrong, Nade? Don't you think we should eat lunch now?"

"Nothing's wrong," he whispered, and put a piece of the sushi in his mouth. It really was his favorite type, but now it tasted like sawdust.

Rima laughed. The tables had been turned. "Whatever you say, _Nade_."

They spent the rest of the lunch in silence.

* * *

><p>Nagihiko was expecting a prank, or something worse. He never expected for the coach, a woman named Kasumi-san, to come in his current class and call, "Nadeshiko Fujisaki, come with me."<p>

The first thing that came out of his mouth was "Huh? What did I do wrong?" Well, at least he hadn't said "It was Rima". That would be awkward.

She laughed. "Nothing, nothing. The basketball tryouts are today, and you signed up, remember? You have to come and change, and prepare for the tryouts."

"But –" Suddenly, he knew what this was about. Turning back, he locked eyes with a complacent Rima before turning back. "I never signed up for basketball tryouts; you must have gotten things mixed up," he said pleasantly, hoping desperately he'd be able to get out of this.

"No, I don't think I did," Kasumi-san said, albeit a bit apologetically. "Rules are rules; if you sign up you can't get out of the tryouts. You'll survive this, don't you think?" She winked.

As Nagihiko took his gym clothes, entered an old, unused bathroom, and closed the door (it was awkward, but his mom had sent in a letter requesting he change alone for P.E.), he kept weighing his choices. He could run away. Nope, out of the question. He could play horribly like he'd done at P.E., but wasn't that what Rima wanted him to do? Embarrass himself? And then he could play like he usually did, and tell Amu he had improved in Europe or something. It wasn't exactly a foolproof plan, but what other choice did he have? He walked out of the bathroom, out of the building, and onto the court. It was empty besides the other kids that were trying out, but he knew it wouldn't be soon.

After Kasumi-san had told the group of students what they were going to do for the tryouts, he found out what exactly Kasumi-san meant by "preparing": getting to know the other forty people who were trying out. And as Kasumi-san was sitting on the sidelines, watching, they couldn't exactly get out of it. Sighing, Nagihiko tapped a blond-haired, pigtailed girl on the shoulder. "Hi, I'm Nadeshiko Fujisaki."

The girl turned, and Nagihiko resisted the urge to back away. Her eyes, an intense dark purple, pierced his. "Look, I know Coach asked us to 'get to know each other', but I've been on the team for two years and I know for a fact that while she does this every year, she doesn't really give a shit. So you go 'get to know' some other people and I'll stand here and sulk, how about that?"

Before Nagihiko had worked up what to say, an auburn-haired girl walked over to them. Sighing, she looked at the blonde. "Utau-chan, can't you be friendly for once?" She turned to Nagihiko. "Sorry about that, she's been in a bad mood lately… because… you know… the time of month…"

The girl named Utau blushed. "Shut _up_!"

The other girl laughed. "Anyway, that's Hoshina Utau, and I'm Sakurai Yua. We've both been on the team for two years. You?" Yua smiled warmly, encouraging him to go on.

"Oh, um, I'm Nadeshiko Fujisaki. I think I might be okay at basketball, but I'm not sure…"

Utau butted in. "Then why the hell did you sign up? You've gotta be _good_ to get on the team. If you're 'okay' you'll never stand a chance, you know that?"

He shrugged wryly. "Rima Mashiro wrote my name on that list to embarrass me. She's hated me ever since I came here."

"Why?" Yua asked.

"Well, to make a long story short, I guess I stole her best friend. I didn't mean to, though."

"Amu Hinamori? Is that the 'best friend' you're talking about?" He looked up in surprise. Utau had a strange, almost desperate look on her face. Meanwhile, Yua's smile had disappeared, and she was now scowling at the floor, playing with a lock of her auburn hair.

"Yeah, why?"

Utau looked like she wanted to say something, but shook her head. "Nothing."

And suddenly, Kasumi-san blew her whistle. Nagihiko suddenly realized the whole school was there already, and had settled on the bleachers. He couldn't see Rima. As he was searching for her, Utau whispered something in his ear. "Sorry, what?"

She looked annoyed. "Are you deaf? I said, if your skills are 'okay', do your best, and I mean your absolute best. You've got nothing to lose, and you can make that Mashiro girl pay by not completely embarrassing yourself." She sighed. "I don't like her either."

"Why don't you –" And she brushed past him, completely ignoring his words.

They lined up in order of age (Nagihiko was the fifth one, after both Yua and Utau) as the coach blew her whistle. First up was free throws; they got five. "Start!"

Yua was good.

Utau was good.

When it was Nagihiko's turn, he was so nervous he could hardly move to pick up the ball. Yes, he had danced in front of huge audiences. But basketball was different for some reason, especially with the girl out to get him in the crowd.

He threw the ball.

It soared in.

And somehow, that sent a jolt of confidence through him. He could do this. Nothing else mattered. There was nothing in the world that could stop him now.

* * *

><p>He couldn't really remember the rest of the tryouts, but he could remember that Yua had gone up to him and said, "That was okay? You're going to make the team!" And he had been happy, so happy he had completely forgotten about Rima.<p>

Humming slightly to himself, he went to the unused bathroom he usually changed in. And as he took off his P.E. shirt, a horrible thing happened: his stuffed bra ripped open on the side.

And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he heard footsteps. Before he could duck into a bathroom stall, two figures were at the door.

Utau and Yua.

A shocked silence rung in Nagihiko's ears, filled only by the heavy beating of his heart. Utau and Yua's eyes darted from his bare chest to the ripped bra in his hand.

After what seemed like a million years, Utau broke the silence. "You're a boy," she said, her voice eerily calm.

"Y-yes," Nagihiko stammered, using his normal voice.

She took a step forward. "You're pretending to be a girl." Yua stood helplessly, still gaping at Nagihiko.

"Yes…"

Utau's eyes narrowed, and all of a sudden, she whipped out her cell phone and snapped a picture. "Wait!" Nagihiko cried. "Don't tell anyone!"

She looked at him emotionlessly. "Explain."

"But –"

"_Explain._"

He took a deep breath and murmured, "Don't tell anyone."

The deadly aura around Utau hadn't disappeared. "Explain."

"Delete the picture first." Nagihiko wasn't sure whether he was being brave or stupid by saying that; Utau looked like she was about to eat him.

"No. Explain."

"If I do, will you delete the picture?"

"You, Nadeshiko or whatever your real name is, are not in a position to bargain right now. Explain, or I will personally blow this picture up, print a hundred, and tape them up all around the school."

What could he do? He explained, and as he did, the tense mood in the bathroom seemed to lift. By the time he was done explaining, Yua was laughing at the fact that he'd had to wear a bra. Utau, who had deleted the picture (thankfully), got out a few bobby pins and pinned the bra together on the side. "It might rip open," she warned, though there was a slightly amused expression on her face. Nagihiko just sighed and put it on, along with his uniform. Quickly putting his hair into a ponytail, he studied his reflection in the mirror for a second and allowed himself a satisfied smile.

Suddenly, Nagihiko asked Utau, "So what's going on between you and Amu?"

Utau stiffened. Yua had stopped laughing. "Nothing's going on –"

Suddenly, Yua jumped up, an uncharacteristically angry expression on her face. "Oh, tell him what's going on, why don't you?" She turned to Nagihiko. "You see, Utau here is obsessed with Amu. _Obsessed_. She wants more than anything to be Amu's friend, and when Amu's there, she doesn't spare me a second glance. Just starts chatting it up with Amu, and she doesn't even think of Utau as an acquaintance. I'm not going to put up with this anymore! It's absolutely pathetic –"

"No, you're just clingy and won't let me talk with anybody else!" Utau had jumped up too.

"Oh, really? Then maybe you should find a less _clingy_ friend who'll let you ditch her for another girl you barely know. I'm sure there are lots of girls like that out there."

"I don't ditch you! Why can't I talk to anyone else?"

Their voices had escalated, so Nagihiko stepped in. "Wait, guys –"

And five things happened, all simultaneously.

Nagihiko stepped between them.

Utau leapt for Yua, but crashed into Nagihiko instead.

Yua dodged.

Utau slammed Nagihiko into a wall, and their lips touched.

And at that moment, Rima walked into the bathroom, and (after the initial shock and urge to scream) took her cell phone out to snap a picture.

* * *

><p><strong>. AUGH THIS CHAPTER WAS SO AWKWARD. I'm so, so sorry about my horrible writing skills. It's just that… I have a problem… whenever I get to writing anything moderately dramatic, I freak out and mess up the scene completely. I myself winced reading this… yet… I couldn't fix it. So I just published it. Sad, I know. I hope this cliffhanger at least half-made-up for it. I'd be surprised if it did.<strong>

**So… yeah, remember my author's note from the second chapter? Yes, this was the "accidental kiss". Ha, you guys were really expecting Rima and Nagihiko to kiss, right? RIGHT? (Maybe not. If you didn't, you're either awesome or you can read my mind.) No, I would never, ever do that. Rima and Nagihiko's kiss has to be saved for something special, not just an accidental slamming-into-the-wall.**

**Anyways… gasp, Rima has blackmail! Or maybe not. She's facing three skilled basketball players here, and at least two of them will be desperate. And Rima's never really been athletically inclined. And that thing with Utau and Amu… IDK, I just felt like doing that to make things more interesting :)**

**Does anybody think the situation with Yua and Utau is like the situation with Rima and Amu? Utau is Amu, Yua is Rima, and Amu is Nadeshiko/Nagihiko. If you recognized that, then you are one of my favorite people in the world. (Just kidding.) If you didn't, well, you got a free spoiler. Actually, you got two free spoilers…**

**I really wish I could freak out more and apologize for horrid writing more, but it's 12:06 A.M. and I really need to go now. Before I do, though, I need to tell you something else: I'm going to be putting previews in this thing now! (Though this one will most definitely spoil the entire next chapter.) They will be as long or as short as I want them to be. :)**

**Bye!**

* * *

><p><strong>Preview:<strong>

_Rima trembled as she ran through the halls aimlessly. It wasn't her fault. What had happened hadn't been her fault. She hadn't meant to say that, but it was a bad habit of hers – whenever she was really, really upset, she lost control of her mouth completely. She hated it. Why had she said that?_

_She couldn't be blamed for saying it, really, as they had literally almost killed her. Well, the Hoshina girl had. So how could she feel like that?_

_Maybe because the words applied to her too…_

No,_ Rima told herself. Amu liked her. Amu didn't like Utau. There was a difference._

_Yet she couldn't shake that nagging, unreachable feeling from her head, the one that said maybe, just maybe, she felt guilty._


	7. Rima's Possible Romantic Rival

The flash of Rima's phone brought them all to reality, and Nagihiko and Utau broke apart so quickly the place might as well have been on fire. There was another silence, a thousand times more awkward than the one before. Then, Rima giggled. "Well, Amu will definitely be interested in this, won't she?"

Utau reacted faster than Nagihiko could ever have thought she would at the name "Amu". In a flash, she was staring Rima down. "Give. That. Phone. To. Me."

Rima barely held her ground. Damn, those eyes could be _scary_ when Utau wanted them to be. "Then give me one reason why I should," she smirked tauntingly, waving the phone inthe air. "I hate you, I hate Nadeshiko, and now I've found out you're both lesbian." Nagihiko wondered for a second why Rima and Utau "hated" each other. Utau had never done anything to Rima, had she? "So… I think I'll be going now."

Nagihiko finally moved. No, he _couldn't_ let Amu see that picture. He tried to reason with Rima. "Rima-chan,it was an accident," he pleaded. "Utau and I bumped into each other… and we somehow… ended up like that."

Rima scrutinized him for a second, her face serious. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Yes." Maybe she wouldn't –

Nope, the smirk was back on her face. "Actually, I don't really care. It's none of my business anyway. Oh, but Amu will definitely think it's her business. So I don't give two shits whether you really are lesbian or not, hmm?"

Nagihiko managed to grab Utau just as she tried to leap onto Rima. "Let me go!" she shrieked. "I –"

"Wait!" he whispered in her ear urgently. "I can still reason with her. Just be patient." Out loud he said quietly, "Rima-chan, please, delete that photo. You've got me. What do you want me to do? Anything."

Rima paused for a second. "Anything?"

"Anything."

The same thought was running through both of their heads. _Amu._ For a second, Nagihiko wondered if it was worth his pride to be separated from Amu. But he couldn't drag Utau into this.

"Tell me how you managed to play basketball that well today."

Nagihiko's eyes widened. "Aren't you going to ask me to –"

"No, of course not. That would be playing dirty."

"Um…" Nagihiko could barely believe his luck. "I already could play basketball like that. I just didn't want to let you guys know…because… I don't know."

"I see." Rima nodded. Then she smiled. "I'll be going now."

Nagihiko's eyes widened. "But –"

Rima's triumphant smile widened. "Let me repeat what you said. 'What do you want me to do? Anything.' Not 'what do you want me to do in exchange for deleting the photo?' I got what I want, so I'll. Be. Going. Now." A strange feeling stirred in her as she said those last four words, but she ignored it.

Shocked, all he could do was stare at her. How could he have been so gullible to actually think she was anything short of desperate for Amu? How could he have been so gullible to actually think she would be worried about "playing fair"?

Utau took advantage of that shock, twisted herself from Nagihiko's grasp, and pinned Rima to the floor in one swift motion. Her hands closed themselves around Rima's neck.

The phone clattered from her hands and onto the floor.

Nagihiko ran to them. "Stop it, Utau!" he shouted.

Utau's eyes were wild. "No," she hissed. "I will not have my reputation ruined just because some dirty bitch of a girl felt like taking advantage of a complete accident."

Rima was gasping for air. "You're going to kill her!"

"Get the phone. Delete the picture."

"Let go of her!"

"I will personally _choke her to death_ unless you don't delete the picture now!" Rima was slowly turning blue.

Nagihiko grabbed the phone and deleted the aforementioned photo. "There, I deleted it! Let go of her!"

Utau did.

For a few seconds, the only sound in the room was Rima's gasps for air. Then, Rima jumped up and slapped Utau. The sound echoed throughout the small room.

Utau blinked. She didn't look angry, just… anticipating. "I guess I deserved that," she said almost pensively. Was it a mood swing? If so, it was an impossibly quick one.

And before Rima's brain could catch up with the situation,words she had never even meant to say were flying out of her mouth. "Right! You think you're so awesome, but the truth is, you're just another wannabe. It's pathetic how you just start falling to your feet every time she passes by. You're just another girl whom Amu puts up with. I bet she doesn't think of you as a friend at all! I bet she doesn't even recognize your face! You called me a dirty bitch? At least she likes me!" She snatched her phone from Nagihiko's hands and ran.

Silence. The third one that day. Then, Utau said finally, "I guess I deserved that too, didn't I?"

Nagihiko looked up, and to his shock, her eyes were glassy, not at all like the usual fierce purple brightness that seemed to almost shine like Amu's sparkle attack. Yet he couldn't seem to help himself from saying,"Yes, you deserved it. What made you do that? We could have all gone to jail if she died!"

Yua exhaled loudly, and Nagihiko jumped. She had stayed sosilent throughout the whole thing he had forgotten she was there. "I told you, didn't I? It's the time of month, the time where she has huge mood swings inthe blink of an eye and doesn't think before doing things and forgets that when she murders someone, there are fucking consequences–" And suddenly she ran to Utau and hugged her. Hard. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Utau…"

Utau grinned, and as she did, her intense glare, the one that had started to seem normal, began to return to her eyes. "That's okay." Pause. "And… I guess I'm sorry too." Nagihiko just watched with slight bemusement.

He would never understand girls, no matter how much he pretended to be one.

After Yua let go, Utau quickly turned to him. "Nagihiko?"

His eyes widened. "Yeah?"

"I won't tell your secret."

"Um… thanks, I guess."

Utau looked a little annoyed, but didn't say anything more. Suddenly, Yua jumped in. "What she means but is too stubborn to say," she drawled, earning herself both a glare and a confused look, "is that you can trust us. We like you, and you're our friend. And… whenever you need help or something, you can count on us. We'll be there, promise. Like that ripped bra thing." She smirked. "Or at least I think that's what she meant, isn't it, _U-ta-u_?"

Said girl's eyes narrowed for a second, before looking away and sighing in defeat. "Yes. Stop gloating."

Nagihiko couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. But why do you hate Rima? Um, you don't have to tell me…"

"Well, it was sort of like the situation between you and Rima. I started… well… talking to Amu whenever I had a chance, then Rima figured it out. And she doesn't like people ripping Amu away from her for even one second. Which is why I know she hates you beyond belief now." Rolling her eyes, Utau added, "That's the only reason why I'm helping you, okay?"

Better not to rub anything in. "Okay."

For the second time since Nagihiko had seen her, Utau truly smiled. "Bye."

He left, all that had happened replaying in his head. And he realized he was happy, for the first time in a long, long while.

He had someone on his side now.

* * *

><p>Rima trembled as she ran through the halls aimlessly. It wasn't her fault. What had happened hadn't been her fault. She hadn't meant to say that, but it was a bad habit of hers – whenever she was really, really upset, she lost control of her mouth completely. She hated it. Why had she said that?<p>

She couldn't be blamed for saying it, really, as they had literally almost killed her. Well, the Hoshina girl had. So how could she feel like that?

Maybe because the words applied to her too…

_No,_ Rima told herself. Amu liked her. Amu didn't like Utau. There was a difference.

Yet she couldn't shake that nagging, unreachable feeling from her head, the one that said maybe, just maybe, she felt guilty.

* * *

><p><strong>Sigh. So… yeah. Nagihiko's happy. Rima's guilty even though she shouldn't be… because Nagihiko's changing her in a way… even though neither of them know it… what else is there to say… besides… yeah.<strong>

**How is my writing? Seriously, how is it? If you have a tiny, insignificant piece of advice, tell me. No matter how small. I need it. :)**

**Um… is this getting boring? You know, at this point in the average Rimahiko story, there would probably be at least a few signs of tsundere Rima/Nagihiko going, "No, I don't like him/her! It's not possible!" However, I haven't shown any hints of romance. At all. Well, there is the part in this chapter where Nagihiko tried to rescue Rima from Utau, but that doesn't count. Ah well, you can count that as a hint if you want. It's going to end Rimahiko anyway, so… yeah.**

**The point is, there's no romance yet, and the truth is that there isn't going to be romance anytime soon. And most of the time when people say this,they say, "Sorry for the lack of romance!" But I won't say that. Because I mean, why are you apologizing? You obviously don't mean it, because if you were really sorry you'd change the story so there was romance in, like, the second chapter. -_-**

**Ugh. By the time Rima starts to like Nagihiko (OH LOOK IT'S A SPOILER RIMA'S THE ONE WHO STARTS TO LIKE NAGIHIKO FIRST NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND okay I get it shut up), at least another six months will have passed. Barf. Ah, well. According to many people, romance is a slow realization. But… is there such a thing as the realization being too slow?**

**Anyway, bye… and hey, at least read the preview? Please? :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Preview:<strong>

_Nagihiko gaped in silence. Who were these kids? They looked exactly like younger versions of him and "Nadeshiko", except they were actually twins, not just one cross-dresser._

_His mom just smiled. "Nagihiko, meet your cousins, Rhythm and Temari. Temari is ten and Rhythm is nine. They'll be staying with us for a while… um… their parents needed a… break, I guess." She laughed awkwardly, and Nagihiko frowned. What kind of parents needed a break from their own children? "I'll be expecting you to take care of them when I'm not here, okay?" She left the room._

_Nagihiko held out a hand hesitantly. "Um, hello?"_

_Rhythm grinned up at him, cocking his head to the side. "Your mom said you're dressing up as a girl to go to this girls' school because you're in love with this girl that goes there, and you can't stand living life without her. Is that right? Who is it?"_

_Nagihiko's mouth dropped open. "Rhythm!" Temari scolded._

_"What?"_

_"You're not supposed to say that! It's personal! Hello?"_

_"Hey, it's true!"_

_"Yes, but… how would you feel if he said, 'Hey, Rhythm! Your mom said you've got a crush on this girl named Miki back home. Is that right? What's she like?'"_

_Rhythm shrugged. "Then I'd say, 'Yeah, that's true.'"_

_A groaning Nagihiko left them to bicker. This was definitely one heck of a pair…_


	8. Actual Twins

He'd made the team.

Of course, he had known he would, seeing as Yua, one of the school's best basketball players, had said so. But seeing it on the list was a completely different thing, especially as he had never thought to try out for anything at Sakura.

Amu had been surprised at first ("Nade-chan, you can play basketball now? That's so cool!"), but was now happy for him, so everything was all right. And Rima had acted sweet, which sort of creeped him out.

Truthfully, Nagihiko wasn't exactly sure whether to be happy or afraid of Rima's next tactic. But that was okay; he had survived this far, hadn't he?

He stopped pondering when Rima herself passed him a note. It said, _Hey, Fujisaki._

He wondered momentarily if he should reply, and, deciding to play the goody-goody, wrote:_Hi, Rima-chan. Don't you think we should be paying attention to class instead of passing notes?_ This was a complete lie; he always passed notes with Amu when Rima wasn't there.

_I don't care._

_But I do… so can we stop passing notes now? Please?_

_You're the one passing them back to me._

_You're passing them back too._

_Yeah, but I'm not the one worried about "paying attention" in class._

_I suppose. Should_ he stop passing them? No, he wanted to see what Rima had to say.

_Then why are you passing them back to me?_

_Are you upset? You're the one that started passing them to me in the first place._

_No, of course not! I'm just asking, if you're complaining about paying attention, why are you still passing notes? It's called being a hypocrite, in case you didn't know._

_Hypocrite? For example, someone who claims to be a girl's "best friend" but won't even allow her to spend time with anybody else? Even if the girl likes that "somebody else" more than the hypocrite in question?_

Rima's mouth dropped open. _What are you talking about?_

_I don't know, Rima-chan. It depends on your point of view. What _am_ I talking about?_

Rima saw red. Having completely forgotten what she had wanted to say before, she ripped the paper up, took out a new piece of binder paper, and wrote: _Hi, Rima-chan!_

"Sensei! Nadeshiko's passing notes to me!"

But for once, Nagihiko's mind wasn't on the angry teacher or getting embarrassed in front of the whole class. He realized that he had just won. Again.

For now.

* * *

><p>As the bus dropped Nagihiko off at his home and sped away, said boy was mulling over Rima. Maybe if he could figure her out he would have an advantage.<p>

_Rima… hmm…_

She was definitely protective of her friends, but didn't show it. She didn't make friends easily; he pondered on how she had befriended cheerful, sociable Amu. And she didn't like being shown up. But he had to admit, he didn't know much about her at all. He added "slightly ambiguous" to his list. No, he took that back. She wasn't ambiguous, but then… what?

Right, because the only girl he _couldn't_ get along with, no matter how much he tried, had to be his worst enemy. What luck.

He reached the door of his house-mansion-maze (too big to be a house, too small to be a mansion, but as complicated as a maze), fumbled for his keys, pushed them in the lock, and stepped in. Just as he thought, his mom was still at work – she had to run the dance studio where he sometimes performed. Maneuvering through the HMM was relatively easy; he had lived here his whole life. Even so, he would still hesitate once in a while when he had to choose between a left or right corridor; then he would blame himself for having the memory of a goldfish. Ah, well.

After a minute or so, Nagihiko entered his room and breezed through the day's homework. Then, he opened his laptop to email Amu. He wasn't sure why; he could just call or text her. But somehow, he had an impulse to use his email, which he hadn't checked in about two or three years. He checked his Nadeshiko email a lot, though. Without bothering to look at the 17,684 messages in his inbox, he started writing a message to Amu.

_Hey, Amu. _He paused._ How are things going at that all-girls' school? _Another pause, as he struggled to think of something to write that wouldn't sound completely lame. _Nadeshiko says you've made another friend, Rima Mashiro. _He couldn't help mentioning her._What's she like? Don't tell anyone I said this, but she sounds a little cold in my opinion. Nadeshiko says Rima's just not used to her, though. _That was enough; if he wrote anything else it would sound suspicious. _Anyway, miss you, and bye. Nagihiko_

He pressed "Send" and leaned back. His first contact with Amu, and it was a lame email about Rima. Why couldn't he somehow get the courage to say anything else?

Nagihiko remembered a time in seventh grade (Nadeshiko had "gone to Europe" in fifth grade, and he had come in sixth) when his overly-cheerful teacher would pick a person each week to come to the board, and the others would write one good thing about that person on a slip of paper anonymously and drop it in a box. Later, that person could take the box home and read "all the good things people say about you!" Or at least that was what the teacher said. Not many people followed the rules. For example, someone had written, "Wimp". Well, that was sort of right, but probably not in the way that person had expected – he was a wimp because he couldn't tell Amu his secret after so long. But what he remembered most was Amu's slip, in her large, round handwriting that was so easy to pick out from the rest.

"Mysterious."

And the first thing he had thought was that he wasn't mysterious. His second thought was that he _was_ mysterious in a way, but that was just because of his cross-dressing secret. The secret that was preventing him from being "normal". And for about the thousandth time, he wondered if he had made the right choice bringing that burden back into his life, even if it meant getting to spend time with Amu.

But either way, couldn't she have written "nice" or something? He would have been satisfied with that, but "mysterious"? Nagihiko picked up his pencil, which had fallen to the floor, and twirled it between his fingers absentmindedly. He couldn't believe how much pain this was causing him – not physically, of course.

And suddenly, he faintly heard the front door open, and children's voices. He stiffened, and after a few seconds, cautiously made his way downstairs.

When he reached the front door, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and attached themselves to who knows what. Who were these kids? They looked exactly like younger versions of him and "Nadeshiko", except they were actually twins, not just one cross-dresser.

His mom, standing beside them, just smiled. "Nagihiko, meet your cousins, Rhythm and Temari. Temari is ten and Rhythm is nine. They will be staying with us for a while; their parents needed a break, I guess." She laughed a little, and Nagihiko frowned. What kind of parents needed a break from their own children? "I will be expecting you to take care of them when I'm not here." She left the room.

Nagihiko held out a hand hesitantly. "Um, hello?"

Rhythm grinned up at him, cocking his head to the side. "Your mom said you're dressing up as a girl to go to this girls' school because you're in love with this girl that goes there, and you can't stand living life without her. Is that right? Who is it?"

Nagihiko's mouth dropped open. "Rhythm!" Temari scolded.

"What?"

"You're not supposed to say that! It's personal! Hello?"

"Hey, it's true!"

"Yes, but… how would you feel if he said, 'Hey, Rhythm! Your mom said you've got a crush on this girl named Miki back home. Is that right? What's she like?'"

Rhythm shrugged. "Then I'd say, 'Yeah, that's true.'"

A groaning Nagihiko left them to bicker. This was definitely one heck of a pair…

* * *

><p>It was Sunday at 8:00 a.m., and Nagihiko Fujisaki wasn't happy.<p>

Why?

He had to take Rhythm and Temari to the park for half an hour. He had gotten away with not doing it on Saturday (he'd had a history project), but he had finished the project, and his mom had insisted the three have some "time together". So he was now facing the prospect of taking those two _things_, just to watch them fight over the swings. (Poetic-ness… sorry about that.) Okay, so "things" was a little cruel. It certainly wasn't what Nagihiko thought he'd be calling them when they'd first met.

Then again, when they'd first met, he hadn't thought he would be listening to them argue _all day_ at the top of their lungs in the room beside him while he tried to glue a bunch of pictures onto poster-board. It was enough to make anyone a _little cruel_, and Nagihiko, unfortunately, was no exception. He was a pretty easy-going guy, but even he had his limits.

His limits had been run over by an eighteen-wheeled truck, driven by two squabbling little kids.

Well, there was no use in thinking about it now. Nagihiko got ready as fast as he could, and had just finished eating breakfast when he heard a voice, so loud he could hear it clearly from two floors down. Temari's. "Rhythm, why did you drop my towel in the trash can?"

_Here they go again._ "Hey, sorry, okay?"

"If apologies solved everything, we wouldn't need the police, would we?"

Nagihiko could clearly hear Rhythm groan, too. How did they manage to be so loud? "Stop quoting from your manga books, and besides, you can just wash it. We don't need the police for this. Geez, why are you so uptight? Make it cool!"

"Why do you _always_ say that?" Oh, that was it.

Nagihiko rushed up the stairs and stopped them from saying anything more. "Hey, I'm taking you to the park, remember?" He managed a smile, though it was hard. "Temari, I'll wash your towel." Temari just nodded. After he had washed it, they went downstairs to eat breakfast, where they started fighting about everything, from the color of the walls to the diameter of Uranus.

By the time they had to go to the park, Nagihiko had given up on making them stop arguing, and was just hoping these thirty minutes would go by quickly so he could retreat to his room and sleep in peace. Yes, that sounded relaxing. And hopefully, the twin Voldemorts would stay quiet enough to let him do so.

Predictably, he had a huge headache when they got to the park, and only the sight of the Voldemorts running toward the playground on the other end of the park helped it. He slumped onto a bench – and sat on someone's hand.

"Ow!"

"Oh, sorry, are you all…" The words died on his lips as he recognized the girl sitting there, staring at him in surprise.

"Nadeshiko? No…" Rima's eyes went automatically to his chest, and she pronounced the word uncertainly, as if it was from a foreign language she couldn't understand. "Nagi… hiko?"

* * *

><p><strong>Right. Some cliffhanger that was. I bet you already know what's going to happen next. And if you don't, then you haven't read enough Rimahiko – not that that's a bad thing, of course, with the crap that many Rimahiko fangirls have been producing. What if it gets as bad as Amuto? I wouldn't have the strength to write anymore. And this is why I'm not continuing my Amuto story (sorry to the people who liked it). Actually, it sucked anyway, so I wouldn't have continued even if Amuto was the best archive in Shugo Chara; I'd even say it was part of the "crap many Amuto fangirls have been producing". I'm not insulting all y'all, though. There are plenty of good Amuto writers out there. Okay, why am I talking about Amuto? And why am I saying "y'all"? I'm not a cowgirl. -_-<strong>

**Yeah, Rhythm and Temari are OOC. I'm sorry, it's part of the plot (to give Nagihiko headaches). :( And even though I said there wouldn't be actual romance for about six months, I'm going to reward all who keep reading… with… a little immature, crush-y, fifth-grade-like interest in the tenth chapter or so. Sorry, but it's the best I can do for now.**

_By the way, if you can figure out which manga the quote Temari used ("If apologies solved everything, we wouldn't need the police, would we?") came from, you are awesome and should PM me immediately. Don't tell me in a review, PM ME._

**What else is there to say? Oh, yeah (because this is totally related), I watched the movie Inception AND IT WAS SO FARTING AWESOME. (But my 19-year-old cousin didn't appreciate it at all. She kept talking about how beautiful and pretty and cute Ariadne is.) If you haven't watched it, watch it as soon as possible. It will be awesome. You have my word. It's full of action, but at the end, it makes you think. I AM NOT A PROJECTION, BY THE WAY. ARE YOU A PROJECTION? 8D**

**Anyway, thanks to all who liked this, and read the preview please even though it's short as hell.**

* * *

><p><em>Preview:<em>

_And for some reason, Nagihiko suddenly didn't want her to hate him anymore. He wanted to become friends with her, even though she had been horrible to him. And when he looked back on this moment later, he wondered if he had been delirious from the Double-Voldemort headache that had still been splitting his head open._

_He should have just kept to himself._

_He should have known that another friend would just mean another person to hurt._

_With his secret._


	9. Nagihiko in Boy Form

Nagihiko was ashamed of the first thing he did. Even if Rima didn't know what he was doing, he was still ashamed and most definitely embarrassed.

He started checking her out.

It wasn't his fault at all. He might have been an innocent, pure (or as pure as someone his age could get), kind teenage boy, but he was a teenage boy nonetheless – and what was more was that the side effects of his hormones had virtually disappeared when he was dressed as a girl. So of course, they came at him full-force when he was dressed as a boy. Add that to the fact that there was a girl sitting beside him. A pretty one. So he began staring at her.

When Nagihiko _finally_ realized what he doing, he gave himself a sound scolding (_What are you _doing, _you pervert?_) and turned his attention to the bigger problem: what to say. Rima had just discovered him in boy-form, and he could either a) lie, which he was very experienced at, or b) tell Rima the truth, right here, that he was Nadeshiko, and beg for her not to tell Amu. And no fool would choose the second option when there was the first, and much better, choice to consider. Plus, Amu had already told Rima about Nadeshiko's twin.

So he lied. Eyes widening in fake surprise, he said slowly, "How do you know my name? Are you a friend of Nadeshiko's? Did she tell you about me?"

Rima suddenly grew stony. "No, I'm not a friend of Nadeshiko's. But I'm a friend of Amu's. _Amu_ told me about you." Both their minds flashed back to Rima's outburst at lunch when she had first met Nadeshiko (something about jet lag, Nagihiko remembered), and Rima became slightly embarrassed. Then, she nearly whacked herself. _What are you waiting for? This is the perfect opportunity!_ Very, very bluntly, she burst out, "What are Nadeshiko's weaknesses?"

He couldn't help it. "Hey, is your name Rima Mashiro?"

"What?"

"I said, is your name Rima Mashiro? Because if it is, Nadeshiko's told me a few things about you." He was enjoying the look on Rima's face.

Angrily, she snapped, "Don't believe anything Nadeshiko says."

_Oh, this is great_. He would never admit it to himself, but it was fun to tease this girl. He never lost, either. "You mean like the fact that you're out to get her, which is partly why I recognized you? That you have wavy golden hair and amber eyes, and are kind of short, which is also partly why I recognized you?" He kept an innocent, clueless expression on his face, not even cracking a smile.

"Yeah, that's me," she said coolly. So Nadeshiko _did_ know that she was out to get her. Why wasn't she doing anything about it then?

"Knew it. You know my name, obviously, since_Amu_, as you say, told you about me, and my last name is 'Fujisaki'. Just like Nadeshiko." At this, he remembered his dad, and averted his gaze.

Rima glared at him. "You're just like Nadeshiko." She saw Nagihiko stiffen a little. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like her…" he said slowly. It was true. He never liked himself when he was a girl, one of the reasons why he had been reluctant to start being "Nadeshiko" again. But of course, the chance to see Amu had won out. But there was always some… no, it wasn't self-hatred. That was too strong a word. It was just that he felt like he was doing something _wrong_, but he could never figure out what it was. And he had no idea why he was telling Rima this.

"You don't like her?" Rima inquired curiously. "But what's with her telling you about me then?"

"Well," Nagihiko lied quickly, "she doesn't know I don't like her. I mean, I'm _supposed _to like her. We're twins."

"That much is true," Rima muttered, being an only child.

"So she's friendly towards me, or at least she acts like it. But… there's something about her that sets me off. I don't know what." He was getting good at lying.

Rima raised an eyebrow. "Like what? You can't just go around hating someone for absolutely no reason." Too late, she realized she was a complete hypocrite.

Nagihiko realized that about a second before her, and for some unexplainable reason – okay, fine, it was perfectly explainable – he was a bit angry. (It didn't help that he had already been annoyed because of his two cousins.) He didn't show it, though. Shrugging, he replied, "Then why do _you_ hate Nadeshiko so much? Like you said, you can't just go around hating someone for no reason." He had her now.

"I… she's… not likeable?" Rima hazarded.

"How? She's friendly enough."

She decided to tell the truth, or at least part of it. "She stole my best friend. Amu."

Nagihiko didn't reply, and suddenly she realized what she had been feeling all this time. Before she knew it, she had blurted, "I'm jealous."

Complete silence. If it hadn't been for Rima's face reddening rapidly, anyone could've thought time stopped. "Y-you didn't hear that," she said quickly. Too quickly.

Nagihiko shrugged, unable to respond properly. Jealous? Part of him was shocked, and the other part wondered how he hadn't figured that out earlier.

Rima was frozen. Why had she said that? Why had she told him _anything_? She couldn't exactly deny it, nor could she take it back. So she ran.

Nagihiko watched her retreating form, the word replaying in his head. _Jealous._ Then, he realized that this was ammunition. When he got to school the next day, he could taunt her about it…

But then Rima would know – no, think – that Nagihiko had told Nadeshiko. She would hate him too.

And for some reason, Nagihiko suddenly didn't want her to hate him anymore. He wanted to become friends with her, even though she had been horrible to him. And when he looked back on this moment later, he wondered if he had been delirious from the Double-Voldemort headache that had still been splitting his head open.

He should have just kept to himself.

He should have known that another friend would just mean another person to hurt.

With his secret.

He checked his watch; only ten of his thirty minutes had passed.

_Great._

* * *

><p><strong>Hi. Yeah, I know I could have written a lot more, but I didn't feel like it, mainly because I'm sick of writing right now. I'll make the next chapter a little longer. Hopefully. Anyway, I need to go on a rant about things that make a Rimahiko story a lot less appealing than it would be. Besides the obvious things, like clichés and OOC-ness (I hate OOC-ness more; clichés are bearable, at least). The less obvious ones that practically nobody notices. Sorry, I have to force this on you all because I am sick of nobody taking any notice of these (very tiny, except for the second one) mistakes.<strong>

**First of all, beauty. I've read a lot of stories where Rima/Nagihiko notice that the other is hot or something, and start getting a little attracted to them. Yeah, that might be a cute scene for other people, but not me. My rules (for my own stories, not yours, so don't start talking about how I don't own fanfiction) are that there is to be NO attraction based on looks. That way, it isn't love. It's just a little crush at most, and I don't like dealing with crushes; I'm okay with them at the beginning, but I want LOVE later. It has to be PURELY THE PERSONALITY that they fall in love with, or I'll drop your story immediately and go read something else. Yeah, in this chapter, Nagihiko thought Rima was sort of pretty. But he didn't feel attracted to her. He didn't start falling in love with her, which I tried to emphasize and failed at. Nagihiko and Rima aren't people to judge by looks. Rima should know, since she herself is cute, and Nagihiko didn't blush or anything when he first saw Rima in canon, right? Then again, neither did Kairi. But Kairi's not the type. Tadase did, though… -_- Anyway, the point is, no attraction based on beauty. If possible, try to avoid making the characters pretty altogether.**

**Second of all, Amu. Okay, why do some of you people make Amu the antagonist in the story? Why don't you like her? She's nice, and she's the main character; what's wrong with her? That's what I really don't understand. This is worse than bashing Tadase or calling him gay, in a way, because I at least understand that (stupid) Amuto fans don't want Tadase getting in the way. So they bash him (which is horrible, still). But Amu… I still have no idea why people hate Amu. Nagihiko doesn't fall in love with her. Yeah, he had a little crush on her at the beginning, but he got over that soon enough. I think that at least a few people think Amu was in the way of Rimahiko, but that's not true at all. In fact, without Amu, Rima and Nagihiko would never have that love-hate relationship thingy y'all are so obsessed with. They would be just like… Rima and Kairi. Basically ignoring each other, and then your precious OTP would go down the drain. So Amu was, and still is, an important factor in Nagihiko and Rima's relationship. Plus, Amu is nicer and more likeable than Rima. There, I said it. Now go ahead and flame me. Like I care. Just don't make Amu the antagonist; I really hate stories like that.**

**Third of all, Rima blackmailing Nagihiko. Okay, I guess this goes in the OOC-ness section, but nobody notices this specific thing anyway, so I'll just go ahead and talk about it. (Rant about it.) Rima wouldn't blackmail Nagihiko to be her slave or something, which is what some people make her do. She would never, ever blackmail Nagihiko in canon. Well, in Party Episode 7, she did, but that was just for him to go on a date with her. Not to become her slave, or break up with Amu (either as a friend, Nadeshiko, or as a boyfriend, Nagihiko), or anything like that. Yeah, Rima's evil sometimes, but would she really make Nagihiko do something like that? A trick to find out if your character is OOC is to try to imagine them actually doing it. That's what I do with those Ikuto-is-a-playboy stories, and I always imagine some faceless guy instead of the cold, quiet teen that Ikuto really is. (Ikuto isn't flirty, geez. Just with Amu, because he likes her. But not with girls that he's never met. So don't make him flirty the moment he meets Amu. Why am I talking about Ikuto?) Imagine Rima, drawn by Peach-Pit/Satelight, telling Nagihiko he has to be her slave forever and ever. No. Just… no.**

**Anyway, I'm done with my rant. Now for the chapter… it was awkward, wasn't it? As in, really, really weird – the communication, I mean. I complain about OOC-ness, and yet I myself haven't fully gotten the hang of it. Actually, I don't think anyone has, and I mean ANYONE. If you think you're completely confident your character is IC and really, really want to argue, PM me. I bet I can find at least one scene in one of your stories in which a character is OOC. Nobody's perfect, and yeah, I respect that; these are just tips, not complaints.**

**Bye!**

* * *

><p><em>Preview:<em>

_And as Rima turned away silently, Nagihiko was struck with the profundity of what had just happened. Amu had chosen him – no, Nadeshiko – over Rima._

_He was supposed to be feeling happy, victorious. He knew this, and yet…_

_Why was he feeling guilty instead?_


	10. The Winner

Rima was hiding in the bathroom.

It wasn't a very proper thing to do, and frankly, it was very, very lame. But what other choice did she have, when a stupid slip of the tongue had made her tell her archenemy's twin that she in fact did not hate said archenemy, but was stupidly _jealous_, the worst thing anybody could be – which she had just realized herself? If she were in Nadeshiko's place, she would have taunted the other girl to no end. But unfortunately, she wasn't in Nadeshiko's place. So she was hiding. More accurately, squatting on the toilet so people wouldn't see her legs – people, namely Amu and Nadeshiko.

Yes, she was _trapped_ in a tiny bathroom stall while her best friend and worst enemy, the two people she wanted to see least at the moment, were chatting right outside. And she was afraid she would fall over at any moment; all she wanted right now was for the two to _go away_ so she could get the pins-and-needles out of her sore, prickling thighs.

She was jolted out of her frustrated thoughts when Amu said, "Wait, I need to go to the bathroom." Suddenly, footsteps came closer; Amu was heading towards _her_ stall! Just her luck – she hadn't locked it. Desperately, she reached forward to bolt it shut, and her legs betrayed her. She landed face-down on the ground just as Amu opened the stall door.

"Eh, Rima-chan? Why are you here? We were looking for you!" Amu exclaimed. Quickly, Rima stood up and dusted off her uniform, knowing that her goose was most certainly cooked.

"Um, when were you looking for me?" she asked, stalling for time.

"The time we normally do!" Even in this desperate situation, Rima couldn't help but notice the "we" and feel a strong burst of – damn – jealousy.

"Um, oh, yeah! I was in the bathroom at that time."

"And you stayed until now?"

Rima shook her head quickly. "I, um… needed to go to the bathroom again?" she suggested weakly, wincing at both the uncertainty in her voice and the lameness of the answer.

Amu blinked. "Okay, I guess." Whew, thank goodness Amu was clueless. Rima wasn't so sure about Nadeshiko, though. And speaking of Nadeshiko…

She was smiling. Rima prepared herself for a mock disbelieving statement of "So, Rima-chan, never though you would be jealous, of all things" or maybe something worse.

"Hi, Rima-chan!"

Rima's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't let her guard down. "Hi," she said cautiously.

"What's wrong? You look sort of scared. Did something happen?"

Did she look scared? "No, of course not. Um… just asking… did you talk to Nagihiko – I mean, your brother lately?"

"He's my twin, so of course! Have you met him?"

"No, why would I have?" Rima could scarcely contain her glee. _He didn't tell her!_ Why he hadn't was beyond her, but she wasn't complaining. No, hadn't he said something about hating her once? Or was it "disliking"? Same difference. Whatever, she wasn't about to question it. Feeling much, much better than from the start of the day, she smiled at Amu. "Should we go to lunch?"

"Yeah, sure. Um, you know how last mall trip was sort of a disaster?" Amu looked apologetic. "Do you want to go there again on Sunday? I promise we won't let you get lost, and I'll invite another one of my friends." She turned to Nadeshiko. "Yaya-chan, remember?"

"Oh, you mean her? Sure! I haven't seen her in a long time." Nadeshiko grinned.

Before they could reminisce any further, Rima cut in, "Yeah, sure, I'll go." What could it hurt? Amu had promised she wouldn't let Rima get lost again, and one of Amu's old friends couldn't be that bad, unless Amu was obsessed with her (Nadeshiko) or she was obsessed with Amu (Utau). Anything to make them shut up.

She felt a little bolder now. As she walked beside Nadeshiko, she stopped and pushed her as hard as she could. Nadeshiko tumbled to the ground with a little squeak; it was so obvious that even Amu looked shocked.

Rima smiled. "Oh, sorry!" Before any of them could reply, she skipped out the door.

* * *

><p>Nagihiko had finally managed to convince Amu that Rima had not purposely pushed him, no matter what it seemed like. He had a vague idea that the reason he was keeping this secret was because he wanted to protect Amu's innocence, even if it meant being tortured himself, and even if Amu would take his side immediately if she knew Rima was physically injuring him. Well, it was the least he could do. After Amu had finally been convinced that Rima wouldn't push Nadeshiko purposely in any situation, they were late for class – the only one where all three of them were together, and the class where the most keep-your-filthy-hands-off-Amu-you-ugly-I-don't-even-know-what-to-call-you-that's-how-undeserving-of-Amu-you-are-glares were thrown at him, courtesy of Rima.<p>

As soon as they burst into the classroom, the teacher told them "do you know how late you are", gave them detention, and started rambling on about a project due in five weeks. Nagihiko was slightly worried about both the detention and the ferocious aura now emanating from Rima's tiny – _no offense, Rima_ – body, but not about the project. It sounded like a breeze – well, a breeze for something that was due in five weeks.

Well, at least he wasn't worried about the project until the teacher said, "This will be a partner project. No exceptions." Then he was plenty worried.

Rima was more worried. No, she wasn't worried – she was practically hyperventilating. The moment the teacher said "Begin finding a partner," she leapt out of her seat and ran over to Amu at the same time Nadeshiko did. In perfect unison, they said, "Can I be your partner?"

Amu blinked. "Um…"

Nagihiko's eyes widened. "I –"

"Rima-chan, can I go with Nade-chan? Just this once?"

_No, _Rima thought. _This can't be happening._ "But…" was all she could say.

"Come on, I've done projects with you all the time! Just this once? Please? I'll do it with you next time! It doesn't matter, does it?" Amu pleaded.

_It does matter, _Rima wanted to say. _Nadeshiko's here. It didn't matter when she wasn't here, but now you're choosing her when she is. How could you do that?_ But she didn't say it.

She had to get out of here, before she broke down in front of Nadeshiko. So she said quietly, trying her best to keep the tremor out of her voice, "I need to go."

And as Rima turned away silently, Nagihiko was struck with the profundity of what had just happened. Amu had chosen him – no, Nadeshiko – over Rima. How could he have guessed a simple project could determine the score?

He was supposed to be feeling happy, victorious. He knew this, and yet…

Why was he feeling guilty instead?

* * *

><p>It was Saturday at 2:00 a.m., and Nagihiko had already finished the entire project single-handed.<p>

He had known he wouldn't be able to sleep. All he could think about was Rima. He'd tried to convince himself he wasn't worried, but the truth was, he _was_. And not about himself – about her.

Why was he such a goody-goody?

So, knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, Nagihiko had launched into the only available distraction, the project, working with a fierce determination literally unmatched in all the days of Seiyo High. And he had managed to keep the thoughts about Rima out of his head, at least for a while. But now he was done., and Amu hadn't had to lift a finger, either. He wished this had been a single-person project, so he wouldn't be obsessing about Rima.

It was part of his personality to be worried – he would do the same for anyone. Or so he told himself.

* * *

><p><strong>I've made a timeline of Secrets. Literally. I basically stayed awake all night, planning this thing out, and I got to the thirty-seventh chapter in my timeline. I was a zombie the next day. Then, I typed it up first thing before writing this chapter. So y'all better be grateful, because I did this for you. (Actually, I couldn't sleep anyway, so I gave up and started thinking about Secrets. It's just as awesome a remedy as the project Nagihiko was working on. But still. Be grateful.)<strong>

**Yeah, this chapter was pretty short too. I'm sorry. But I promise – and this time I SERIOUSLY PROMISE – I will make the next chapter longer than this one. Even though next time I'll probably come with some excuse like "It was one word longer than last chapter!" Hey, at least I apologized.**

**Ha, Nagihiko's worried about Rima. It IS actually part of his personality – the last sentence was sort of a teaser. Hey, I have to put teasers, otherwise it's no fun.**

**Nothing else to say, so bye! And the preview is short. Again. Shorter than last one, I think.**

* * *

><p><em>Preview:<em>

_Nagihiko stepped back, feeling a bit shocked. "Are you… crying?" he said slowly._

_Rima gritted her teeth. "Yes, you idiot," she hissed, before failing to suppress a sob. And all Nagihiko could do was stand there, watching her and feeling awkward._

_Oh, what a joy his life was._


	11. Fifteen Thousand Yen

_It's over._

Rima usually didn't think like this. When desperate, she didn't give up, but instead tried more frantically to escape. But now, she had gone through – and vetoed – every "escape" plan she had. In fact, she had even called Kairi Sanjo, the slightly geeky boy she had worked on a project (and therefore switched phone numbers) with in fourth grade, before she had transferred to Seiyo. After explaining who she was (he had forgotten completely), explaining her dilemma (it took at least fifteen minutes), and telling him that the only reason she had called him was because she was desperate, he had told her three things:

1. If you don't go to that mall trip that's so important to you, your friend and enemy will have the time of their lives together, and you probably don't want that.

2. If you do, however, you'll probably end up being all awkward and upset. I don't even remember what you're like, but why else would you be panicking? Oh, well, not my business. Even though you pretty much told me your life story.

3. Basically, I have no idea what to do for you. Bye. My sister needs me to make dinner.

What a big help. But he was right – if she didn't go, Amu and Nadeshiko would have fun. Together. And after the project incident, that was the last thing she needed. Being so preoccupied with _not_ going, she hadn't remembered that.

Ugh.

She had to go.

* * *

><p>At his own house, at the exact moment Rima had resigned herself to the mall trip, Nagihiko had come up with a brilliant plan.<p>

He was feeling guilty about Rima, right? So he shouldn't rub it in her face that he was there at the mall trip with her, right? And he also wanted to see Amu as himself, right? Then, he could call Amu at the last second and say he had dance practice. Then, he could go to the mall as Nagihiko and meet Amu.

Okay, fine, so it wasn't a brilliant plan.

Okay, fine, so he was just maybe a little slightly terrified of what Rima could – and would – do to him with only Amu and Yaya as protection.

Okay, fine, so he was very, very terrified. But hey, he could save himself from bodily harm, and to meet Amu at the same time as Nagihiko. Any plan would do.

He looked at the very old-fashioned, very traditional clock hanging above on the wall in his room.

Forty minutes to go.

* * *

><p>Forty minutes later, Nagihiko had called Amu and had left the house. As he neared the mall, he grinned nervously. Holding his bags (his alibi), he walked in and looked around. <em>They should be here already, <em>he thought. _But considering the speed at which Amu runs in a mall… especially if there's a sale… and with Yaya too…_ There _had_ been a sale, hadn't there? Right, a huge one. For girls' clothes. Nagihiko headed toward the designated shop – and immediately bumped into someone.

"Oh, Yaya's sorry – eh, Nagi-nii?"

_Well, that was easier than expected_. "Hi, Yaya-chan. What are you guys doing here?" he asked, looking at the three – Amu, Rima, and Yaya. Rima was obviously being dragged along by the other two; she looked less than happy.

Yaya bounced up and down on her heels. "Oh, Yaya, Amu-chi, and Rima-tan were at the sale a few minutes ago, but there were too many people. The line was going all the way out of the store! So they left." Her eyes were sparkling. "What's Nagi-nii doing here? Yaya hasn't seen him in a long time!"

Nagihiko laughed, lifting up the empty bags. "I just got here. My mom asked me to go buy some clothes for her and Nadeshiko, so… here I am."

"Cool! Anyway, Yaya never got to ask him, what school did he transfer to?"

Amu stared at him curiously. "You transferred?"

How could he have forgotten that Yaya went to Sakura High too? "Oh, I'm going to… Ogawa High," he said, randomly shooting out a boy's school.

"Isn't that an all-boy's school?" Amu asked. "How come you never mentioned it in the email?"

Yaya screamed, getting strange looks from passerby. "Nagi-nii emailed Amu-chi? He never emails people! Yaya emailed him fifteen and a half times –"

"How did you email him half a time –"

"Yaya wrote half a message, that's how! And Yaya accidentally pressed send –" Yaya was leaning closer.

"Well, I don't know, he emailed me, now get off –"

"Ugh, can we go shop now?" The voice belonged to Rima, who was currently avoiding Nagihiko's gaze. _Right, I'm glad Nadeshiko's not here, but how come fate had to dump HIM on me? And how does him emailing someone cause absolute pandemonium?_

Yaya tilted her head to the side interestedly. "But Yaya thought Rima-tan didn't want to shop! Rima-tan kept saying 'Let's go eat now', and even Yaya has never wanted to eat that much – eh, is Rima-tan _blushing_?"

"I am not!" She was, but it was out of nervousness, because she didn't want to face Nagihiko. Immediately, she could see Yaya was getting the wrong idea.

"Have Nagi-nii and Rima-tan met before?"

"No, of course not –"

Nagihiko smiled a little. _Let her have some fun; you haven't seen her in weeks, and she's probably been deprived ever since Amu got over her crush on Tadase years ago. _"Yeah, we met last week. We were at the same park for some reason, and she recognized me because she'd met Nadeshiko, and knew about her twin brother." Rima shot him a dark glare, but he didn't even look at her.

Yaya squealed. "Did they talk?"

"Yeah, but it was just casual. Why?" he asked, knowing full well why.

That was enough for Yaya. "Come-on-Amu-chi-and-Yaya-will-go-to-the-bathroom -Nagi-nii-and-Rima-tan-will-wait-here!" She dashed off, dragging Amu along with her.

"Oh, great. I bet they're trying to set us up now." Rima groaned.

"Hey, sorry. I just wanted to give Yaya-chan a little satisfaction."

"Satisfaction?" Rima demanded indignantly. "Our being a couple is satisfaction for her?"

"Um, yes, in a way."

Suddenly, she smiled. "Well, I'll give her satisfaction."

"What are you smiling about?"

"I want to trick them."

"What do you mean?" Nagihiko was getting a bad feeling.

Rima shrugged. "Put on an act," she explained casually. "A romantic one, like – oh, gosh, they're here. Hurry up." She could see them out of the corner of her eye, ducking and weaving in the crowd, and finally entering a shop they were standing at the entrance of.

Nagihiko obeyed, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Rima-chan," he said quietly, "I have something to tell you."

"Yeah?" _A confession scene? How boring. Can't he make up anything better on the spur of the moment?_

The silence seemed to last forever, and Rima was getting a little antsy. Suddenly, Nagihiko said, so strongly Rima was shocked, "I like you. I know we've only met once, but I like you. You're so… different. I can't explain it. You're unique, and ever since we met last week, my mind's been on you."

_Holy shit._ Her face was red, she knew, but that would add to the effect of the whole thing… except she wasn't sure whether it was fake anymore. Either it was real, or Nagihiko was a very good actor.

A very, very, very good actor.

She was vaguely aware of Nagihiko saying, "Will you go out with me?"

_Okay, this is it. If he isn't acting, you can tear his throat out later. _She swallowed. "Yes."

A loud, high-pitched combination of a shriek and a squeal pierced the air, causing them both to wince and cover their ears, and an excited Yaya and a blushing Amu jumped out from behind a mannequin. "OhYaya'sgoshohYaya'sgoshohYaya'sgosh! Rima-tan and Nagi-nii are dating – what?" She stopped when she saw their expressions: Nagihiko's very, very amused, and Rima's the equivalent of Amu's (very, very embarrassed). "Huh? Why are they looking at Yaya like that?"

"Sorry, Yaya-chan, it was an act."

"Huh? An act?"

"We faked it. To trick you."

"Eh?" Yaya's eyes grew wide. "Nagi-nii and Rima-tan are good actors! But Yaya wishes that was real…" she added, lips forming a pout. "Now come with Yaya and Amu-chi to go shop, Rima-tan! We have to stay by your side, remember?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no. I am _not_, no matter what, going off with you guys again," Rima declared furiously, momentarily forgetting her embarrassment. "I can't even keep up with your walking. Every single time you forget about me and run off to some store at the speed of light, I have a heart attack because I'm afraid you've completely ditched me. See, I haven't bought _anything_. I'm better off without you two 'staying by my side'." Nagihiko winced – she had obviously been unhappier before he had come than he'd realized.

"But, Rima-chan – oh, I know!" Amu exclaimed. "You can go eat lunch or something with Nagihiko, and Yaya-chan and I will shop!" She turned to Nagihiko. "You won't mind, will you? I know you have to go shop for your mom and Nade-chan, but we'll be leaving in a while."

"Well, this wasn't exactly –"

"Please?" Oh, no. Oh, _no_. She was giving off the sparkle attack. Again.

And he was getting blinded by it. Vaguely, he heard himself say, "Sure." Oh, no.

"Thanks! Bye!" And they had run off.

Rima wasn't exactly ecstatic, too. First, Amu had ditched her for Nadeshiko. Then, Amu had ditched her for shopping with Yaya, and left her with the second-last person she wanted to be alone with at the moment.

Nagihiko sighed audibly, causing her to glower. "Now what do we do?"

"Why didn't you tell Nadeshiko I was jealous of her?" She figured the question would burst out anyway, so better sooner than later.

Nagihiko lifted a shoulder carelessly. "Told you, I don't like her."

"And why don't you like her?"

"Told you, I have no idea." _And even if I knew why I hated my other self so much, I wouldn't tell you._

"That's not very believable."

"Don't believe me, then. How's life?"

Rima's emotions spilled out instantly. How was life? It was being horrible to her. She was losing the war she had declared, and Amu with it. Everything was going wrong. Nadeshiko had ruined her life. "Terrible." She had wanted it to sound matter-of-fact, but it came out as a strangled whisper.

"What?"

She couldn't say anything – her voice had stopped working. Instead, she buried her face in her hands. Trying to take deep breaths didn't work – they were more like shaky gasps. Nagihiko stepped back, feeling a bit shocked. "Are you… crying?" he said slowly.

Rima gritted her teeth. "Yes, you idiot," she hissed, before failing to suppress a sob. And he was faced with three choices: walk away, which probably wasn't a good idea, comfort her, which he could not bring himself to do, or just stand there. So he just stood there, feeling awkward.

Oh, what a joy his life was.

When Rima had finally regained control of herself (_Yes,_ Nagihiko thought happily), she looked away, mortified. "Some help you are," she muttered, barely audible.

"What'd you say?"

"Oh, nothing!" she snapped. Quickly trying to change to subject, she added, "By the way, how'd you make yourself blush?"

"Huh?"

"Okay, seriously, are you _deaf_? Did you forget to wear your hearing aids? I said –"

"I heard what you said, okay? I just meant, when did I make myself blush – oh, you mean the act for Yaya?"

"Yes, you ugly retarded _thing_, the act!"

"You know I can tell Nadeshiko you cried, right?" Hey, he couldn't let Rima take complete advantage of him.

_Ouch._ "Fine, sorry for calling you a thing."

"What about ugly and retarded?" Nagihiko asked, smiling slightly.

"Hey, the truth hurts. Now answer my question."

"What – oh, the one about the act!"

"See? Retarded, just like I said."

Nagihiko groaned. "Okay, it's part of my natural talent."

"What – oh, right, the question."

"Retarded," Nagihiko murmured, earning a fierce glare and a light punch. "Anyway, how did _you_ make yourself blush?"

"Huh?"

Refraining from a "see? Deaf _and_ retarded," Nagihiko explained, "During the act."

_Oh, no. He saw me blush. _"Um… it's part of my natural talent."

Nagihiko didn't look like he believed her. At all. "Could you possibly have thought I was serious?" he asked, keeping a perfectly innocent, confused look on his face.

Rima didn't answer, but her face flamed a bright red, letting him know the answer.

"You know you're the one who wanted to do it, right?" Even as he said it, he grimaced. _That sounds wrong._

"Idiot," Rima hissed, her face still red, and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To eat."

"But you got lost once, remember? Nadeshiko told me."

_Damn you, Nadeshiko. _Now, not only would she have to worry about embarrassing herself in front of Nadeshiko, she would also have to worry about Nadeshiko telling her twin brother, who was almost as annoying. (Almost.) She didn't turn around. "I can ask someone for directions on the way out."

Nagihiko frowned. Something wasn't right here… "That's what you did last time, right? Nadeshiko told me. But then, how come you didn't do that right when you got lost and started panicking? How come you waited for Nadeshiko and Amu to find you before you stormed out of the bathroom saying that you'd find someone else to ask instructions for, and that you'd never speak to them again?"

Rima stiffened. _And not only did she tell him everything, she told him everything in detail._ "None of your business, idiot." She began walking away again.

Nagihiko easily caught up. "Okay, I'll go with you to eat. Even though this wasn't part of my schedule."

"You're not doing me any favors, just so you know."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say. Hey, I see a restaurant! Let's go get pizza."

They didn't get a chance to get pizza right then, though. In fact, they hadn't even walked two steps when someone popped up in front of them. Rima jumped back, startled, but Nagihiko smiled. "Hey, Souma-kun."

"Hey, Fujisaki. Long time no see." Kukai cocked his head toward Rima. "This your girlfriend?"

Before Nagihiko could so much as open his mouth, Rima had jumped in front of him. "I'll have you know," she snapped indignantly, "that I wouldn't date him if my life depended on it."

Bright green eyes stared at Rima approvingly. "I agree. Completely."

Rima's frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

"In other words, if I were a female, I wouldn't date him if my life depended on it either," Kukai said. "He's just too…" He shook his head.

"Hey!" Nagihiko protested, while Rima snickered.

"Wanna know what's _really _horrible about him?" She had stepped closer. "He's got no backbone."

"Barely a personality, or at least he doesn't show any," Kukai agreed cheerfully. "Always pretending to be nice, so much it's infuriating. I mean, he _does_ have a character, which I learned over the years, but no, when you first meet him he's always _smiling_, no matter what you do to him_._No annoyance, no nothing."

"Yeah. No emotion at first. Just this ugly, retarded grin on his face."

"Well… I wouldn't go that far to say ugly and retarded…"

"Oh, really? Would you?"

"Maybe. Well, we know it's stupid, at least."

"We know _he's_ stupid. But he doesn't." And to Nagihiko's utter disbelief, they high-fived. (Rima had to reach up a little, though Kukai wasn't making it easy for her, considering her height.)

"I'm still here! Hello?" he snapped.

Kukai laughed. "See, there's the annoyance. It comes after time. But first day, he's a complete goody-goody. I got sick of him in five seconds."

"I got sick of him in two."

"There's a new record."

"Are you implying that I'm impatient?"

"Sort of, why?"

"I'm perfectly patient in normal situations, with _normal people_," Rima said sharply. "I just can't stand people like _him_."

"Whoa, I get that feeling. When I transferred, he was showing me around the school, and was showing complete _love_ for everything, and I was thinking, 'What is with this guy?' and _then_ –"

"_Kukai Souma…_" Nagihiko said threateningly.

"That's my name, by the way," Kukai told Rima, still completely ignoring Nagihiko. "Yours?"

"Rima Mashiro. You know, for one of his friends, you're okay."

"For his girlfriend, you're okay too."

Rima's jaw unhinged. "I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

Kukai grinned. "Then what are you doing hanging out with him?" Rima had no reply to that, and stayed silent, fuming. He turned to Nagihiko, finally acknowledging him. "So, I never got to ask you, what school did you transfer to?"

"Why should I tell you?" Nagihiko retorted heatedly, still sore from all the insults thrown at him. "It's not like you'd want to do anything with the information besides tell all my classmates what a goody-goody I am."

"Aw, come on," Kukai said. "I was just teasing. I don't really think you're a goody-goody. Well, not now, at least."

Nagihiko didn't reply.

"Hey, just think of it as revenge for stuffing me in a skirt a couple of years ago, okay?"

Rima gasped. "_What_?"

"I told him he looked like a girl. And I asked what it was like being in a skirt," Kukai informed her happily.

"He's been in a skirt?"

Kukai began whistling nervously, and Nagihiko sighed, feeling all the anger being replaced by defeat. "No, I haven't been in a skirt. He just thought he would see what it took to make me mad."

Rima backed away considerably. "So if I were male and told you you looked like a girl, you would stuff me into a skirt?"

"You're not male, and you're already wearing a skirt. And Kukai, I go to Ogawa High." That was what he had told Yaya, wasn't it?

"You and Nadeshiko really are alike."

Kukai whipped his head around so fast Nagihiko heard his neck crick. "_What?_"

She rolled her eyes. "I mean, Nadeshiko goes to an all-girls' school – Seiyo, which is my school too – and he goes to an all-boys' school."

_I'm dead. _Nagihiko could practically follow Kukai's thought process: Nadeshiko is going to school = Nagihiko is cross-dressing = Nagihiko can't go to two schools at a time = Nagihiko isn't going to Ogawa = Nagihiko is a big fat liar = Why's he cross-dressing anyway? And from both his experience and the look on Kukai's face, Nagihiko knew he was preparing to ask that question out loud, in front of Rima Mashiro, and ruin his life.

So before Kukai could so much as open his mouth, Nagihiko slammed his hand over his mouth, causing them both to barely catch their balance. Dragging Kukai, he ran, calling back to Rima, "I'll be back in a second! Order the pizza!"

* * *

><p>When they'd finally gotten to a spot secluded enough for Nagihiko, he let go of Kukai. "If you tell her, I'm dead, and if I'm dead, I'm bringing you down with me."<p>

Kukai narrowed his eyes at him – Nagihiko had never seen him so serious. "That doesn't cover the explanation you now owe me. At all," he deadpanned.

Nagihiko sighed. "First, you have to tell me, are we friends or enemies right now?" They always said this whenever one was actually being serious with the other; their "friendship" basically just consisted of them trying to bring the other down, but helping each other at bad moments. (It was a love-hate relationship, in a way.) And this was most certainly a bad moment.

"Friends."

He explained the whole story, unable to help feeling like this was a replay of what had happened in the bathroom with Utau and Yua. He even told Kukai about the act he and Rima had put on for Yaya and Amu that same day. When he was done, the brunet whistled. "Wow."

"What?" Nagihiko asked defensively.

"You are one desperate, hapless teenager."

Nagihiko's eyes clouded with confusion. "How?"

"You're willing to do this for a girl who probably doesn't even care that you exist. No offense. And I mean, it's just to _be with her_, which, considering the sacrifice you've made, is _crazy_. No offense. And even worse, if she ever finds out, whether it's through you or that Rima girl or those two basketball players or on accident, she'll think you're absolutely disgusting. Forever and ever and ever. No offense."

"I'm not disgusting!"

"Fujisaki, you're dressing as a_ girl_. That says it all. And how come you never told me you were in love with Hinamori?"

"I forgot."

"Nice excuse. Did you tell anyone else? You told Hotori first, right?"

"No, the only people that know are my mom, my cousins, Utau-chan, Yua-chan, and you."

"You have _cousins_?"

"Yeah, they're visiting."

"What're they like?"

"I can't tell you. Ten minutes with them is worth a million words. Come over to my house sometime."

"Sure. And why are you trying to be friends with Mashiro? Far as I can tell, she's caused you nothing but trouble. Which is supposed to be _my_job – but she's actually doing it pretty well."

He sighed. "I don't know why. I mean, I know she'll attempt to torture me – I mean, Nadeshiko – at every opportune moment, but somehow, I sort of… feel… _sorry_ for her, know what I mean? Her best friend's being taken by some girl who –"

"Spare me the goody-goody talk." Ignoring Nagihiko's slightly furious look, he paused, then suddenly yelled, getting strange looks from passerby, "Wait!"

"What? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"What were those basketball players' names again?"

"The girls who found out I was a boy?"

"Yes! Those people!"

"Um, Utau Hoshina and Yua Sakurai, why?"

Suddenly, Kukai grabbed Nagihiko by the shoulders. "Utau Hoshina. Utau Hoshina. Are you sure you got the name right?"

"Yeah, I did, and you're freaking me out. Let go of my shoulders."

Kukai didn't move. "Okay, like, scary blond pigtails that could make someone pass out and scary purple eyes that could make someone pass out?"

"You –"

He finally (_Yes,_ Nagihiko thought happily) took his hands off Nagihiko's shoulders. "Yes, I have met her, and from what you've told me, you haven't been cautious enough. Do _not_ mess with that girl or –"

"Souma-kun, you're scared of a _girl_?"

"Anybody that wasn't a sexist goody-goody would be scared. Goody-goody."

"I get the point now, and aren't you tired of saying 'goody-goody'? Okay, whatever. Where'd you meet Utau-chan?"

Kukai smiled. "We met at a ramen shop, and now we go there every Saturday. To compete. Whoever finishes a ramen bowl the fastest gets a thousand yen from the other." He stopped. "Oh, no, does she know you call her 'Utau-chan'? Because she's going to maul you, and I don't want a horror scene."

"She's not that scary. So you're dating her?"

"I'll have you know that I wouldn't date her if my life depended on it. It's called _competing_. And one more thing –"

"Wow, with that first sentence, you sounded just like Rima-chan – oh no, Rima-chan. I ditched her. Bye!"

"Wait!" Kukai called, but Nagihiko was already running away.

* * *

><p>It had been… ten minutes? Not possible. Her phone was broken. It had to be. Rima had been waiting for at least two hours. So when Nagihiko finally came, Rima was pissed.<p>

"Where _were_ you?" she yelled, getting strange looks from passerby.

Nagihiko flinched. "I was talking with Souma-kun, and I sort of got lost on the way back…"

"I got the pizza." She pointed to it on the table. "Now give me ten thousand yen."

"Pizza isn't worth ten thousand yen!"

"Pizza _and_ ditching me for two hours is."

Nagihiko checked his watch. "According to my watch, that was twelve minutes and forty… um… three seconds, not two hours. Now how much did the pizza really cost?"

"Fine, then. Fifteen thousand yen – hand it over." Rima smiled sweetly.

"Look, I'm sorry! And I don't even have fifteen thousand yen."

"Well, give me all your money so I can see how much you owe, and we'll talk interest."

"Why are you so mad anyway? You could've just eaten the pizza and called Amu."

Almost magically, the energy seemed to come out of Rima. She lowered her head and started crying. "You don't have to pay. I don't remember the cost. I-I'm just mad that you ditched me."

Nagihiko couldn't help rolling his eyes a little."Rima-chan, stop fake-crying. I can't believe you'd lower yourself to that level."

Her head snapped up. "_What?_ It's worked on Amu no matter how many times I do it!"

"Your point being…?" Nagihiko raised his eyebrows.

"You had an advantage! You've watched me actually cry before!" Realizing what she'd just said, Rima reddened and hurriedly added, "Idiot!", getting strange looks from passerby.

"Wait, so Amu's never watched you cry? Isn't she supposed to be your best friend?"

"Your point being…?" Rima raised her eyebrows in an imitation of Nagihiko.

"Don't copy me." He studied her thoughtfully. "You know, you're actually sort of cute."

"Why? Because I'm short?" Rima asked, glad for a change in subject.

"No, because whenever you're embarrassed, you call me an idiot," he said complacently. _That's for calling me a goody-goody._

Rima stared at him, feeling partly stunned at his observation skills, and partly homicidal at the fact that he was making fun of her while keeping a completely straight face. So she blurted out the first thing she thought of. "Idiot." _I'm so stupid. Did I really just say that?_

She was saved by her friends. "Rima-tan! Yaya and Amu-chi are done shopping! They should go to Amu-chi's house to make cookies!" Yaya waved. Rima had never been so glad to see someone in her life.

Quickly, before Nagihiko could respond, she called, "Coming!" and raced off.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Rima was lying on her bed, thinking hard. What had she forgotten? She knew she'd forgotten something… about the mall trip…<p>

_How. The. Fuck. Did. I. Forget._

The pizza. Not only had she paid for it, she hadn't even eaten it. And she hadn't gotten the fifteen thousand yen she'd demanded, either. She had been distracted by the guy who had told her to buy it in the first place.

And of course the goody-goody wouldn't throw it in the trash or anything. He'd enjoy it.

Gnashing her teeth, she thought, _Nagihiko Fujisaki, if I ever see you again, you are dead._

* * *

><p><strong>I can't believe this. When I write a normal chapter, with <em><em>, it's approximately three pages long. But when I write a filler chapter, with absolutely nothing in it of importance to the storyline, it just happens to be THIRTEEN PAGES LONG. Yes, THIRTEEN PAGES. And this is a _filler chapter_, though I already mentioned that. I'm becoming horrible. Well, at least I kept the promise I made last chapter – it is longer than the last two. And all the others, I think XD**

**(Is pizza eaten in Japan? Because if it isn't, sorry. If it is, great.)**

**I think there'll be sort of maybe kind of fluffy romance in the next chapter, or at least the start of it. Sort of. Maybe. Kind of. Don't get your hopes up, because I can't deal with angry readers.**

**Anyway, I know the characters were crazy OOC. Especially Kukai. For some reason, I can never write him well, and he always turns out... well... like this. (That's what happened in another one of my stories, Adopted. Don't read it. It sucks, and I will never complete it. Guaranteed.) And yes, I also know the whole chapter was basically just a load of dialogue. I will try (TRY) to make the next chapter better. It ****might be long. Might be short. The time it takes me to write it might be long. Might be short. I don't know. Don't expect anything from me, because I will probably either fail your expectations miserably or succeed them by a thousand times. Whatever that means.**

**Bye! (The preview is slightly pathetic. Sorry.)**

* * *

><p><em>Preview:<em>

_"Oh, and by the way, you still owe me fifteen thousand yen," she said casually._

_Nagihiko's eyes widened. "You _still_ remember that?" he asked, feeling incredulous. It was just a pizza!_

_"Well… maybe I can make an exception and spare you your money. But in return, you have to do something for me." Rima smiled at the look on his face._

_Perfect._


	12. His Precious Hair

Rima heard her before she saw her.

"Hi, Rima-chan!"

Rima turned around, keeping a perfectly stoic expression on her face. "Yes?"

"Let's go to lunch together!" Of course. Like every other day. She rolled her eyes and followed after Nadeshiko.

Lunch was so boring now. Before, it had been a chance to escape from the dreary, mind-numbing classes, and to have leisurely chats with her one-and-only best friend. Now, it was a dreary, mind-numbing event – one that she was forced to go to – in which she had to listen to her former best friend and her archenemy have leisurely chats with one another. Rima still hadn't given up – she was still going to get Amu back at all costs, but now a new question had popped up in her mind: _how?_ And when Amu had chosen "Nade-chan" over her, she had thought, for the first time, that maybe she wasn't going to win.

And it was at this moment, when she was silently following Nadeshiko into the cafeteria, that she came up with an idea. Actually, it wasn't really an idea – more of something desperate, something she would never use normally. It was help.

* * *

><p>"I have to go to the bathroom." Rima stood up quickly.<p>

"Oh, do you want one of us to go with you?" Amu suggested.

Normally, Rima would have jumped at the offer for Amu to spend a few seconds alone with her while Nadeshiko was in the same building, but this time she shrugged. "No thanks."

"Okay, then!" Amu went back to talking with Nadeshiko, and, grateful for the first time that she was doing so, Rima slowly walked behind Nadeshiko towards the bathroom.

Very slowly.

Nagihiko could've sworn he felt his skirt move slightly, but it was probably just the wind from Rima moving past him.

_They need to make these things longer. I can't even sit on them._

* * *

><p><em>Don't squeal. Don't squeal. Don't squeal.<em>

She squealed. In a little elated whisper, she chanted, "I have Nade-chan's cell phone, I have Nade-chan's cell phone, I have Nade-chan's cell phone…"

After getting over the joy of having Nadeshiko's cell phone, which took a long time, Rima went to Nadeshiko's contacts, and, praying the number was there, she looked through them. Finding what she needed, she pressed the green "Talk" button.

After a few rings, a voice came on. "You have reached the wrong number. If you haven't and you're sure you haven't, please leave a message. Beep."

The message sounded okay, but the "beep" was way too suspicious. "Souma-san, if that's you, you're not fooling me. If I really have reached the wrong number, then I apologize, as it is none of my business why you're trying and failing to –"

"Who is this?"

"Rima Mashiro. The girl from the mall."

"Fujisaki's girlfriend? Why are you calling me?"

"I'm not his girlfriend, and I'm calling you because I need your help."

* * *

><p>"Wait, <em>seriously<em>?"

"If you don't believe me, your loss."

"And what about…"

* * *

><p>"Well, that was helpful. Are you <em>sure<em> you don't know _anything_ about –"

"Yeah, that's all. Why do you need it anyway?"

"Whatever. I have enough info. Thanks."

_Click._

* * *

><p>It was planned down to the last second.<p>

Well, not really. All she had to do was get out her scissors from the locker, stuff them in her pocket, wait for the class where Amu wasn't there, but Nadeshiko was, then plunk down behind her. (Nadeshiko, not Amu.) It didn't need much planning at all.

Rima took out the scissors, and, carefully lifting Nadeshiko's impossibly long ponytail, moved her scissors up the thick purple strands. _Hmm, _she thought, _that would be about… thirty centimeters I'm going to cut off_? She wasn't sure, but she knew she needed more. She slowly moved the scissors forward and back as she tried to decide. Nadeshiko's hair was about… down to her knees. Rima needed to cut it to her waist, which was about the length of her own hair. She wasn't good with measurements, but she guessed it was probably forty-five centimeters, give or take a few.

Her excuse to herself for doing this was that Nadeshiko was probably fond of her hair, but the truth was that Rima reeked jealousy not only of Nadeshiko's position with Amu, but how flawless she was. Everything about her was the epitome of perfection, including her hair. It was _too long_. She wasn't going to leave Nadeshiko bald – she wasn't that evil – but she was just going to hack off a little.

Rima found the spot. _Okay, this is perfect. _She took a deep breath and… snipped.

A surprisingly loud cutting sound pierced the air, cutting the teacher off from her talk and causing everyone, including Nadeshiko, to turn around in their seats, staring at the long lock of violet-colored hair on the ground and the scissors in Rima's hand. Nadeshiko promptly turned white.

"Detention." The normally bad-tempered teacher, who had suddenly become calm, resumed talking. Rima's classmates stared in astonishment.

To the more superstitious ones, it was a sign of weird things to come.

* * *

><p><em>Two more minutes left.<em>

Rima took off her uniform, and, with one hand, hurriedly opened her P.E. locker. She stuffed the uniform in and took out her P.E. clothes –

"Rima-chan!"

She turned to see Nadeshiko standing right behind her. "Call me Mashiro-san. And what are you doing here?" For some reason, Rima couldn't get used to the sight of Nadeshiko with waist-length, instead of knee-length, hair, even though she had been the one who'd cut it.

"I wanted to come to class with you!"

"You never come to class with me." Rima began putting on her clothes.

"Well, this time I want to."

"No." Done changing, Rima stalked out of the room.

Nagihiko had come into the changing room at the latest time he thought wise, to see as few girls in bra and underwear as possible. (He'd still seen some, though, including Rima. The memory would be imprinted forever in his mind.) It was a price he'd had to pay, in order for his plan to work.

He murmured Rima's P.E. locker combination under his breath.

_Sorry, Rima. _And he was. _But nobody gets away with cutting my hair._

The plan would commence tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Rima walked slowly from school towards the park where she and Nagihiko had met, and once she got there, she sat on the bench, pulling out a book from her backpack. <em>Kukai, if you're wrong, you're going to pay.<em>

He was right. In a few minutes, Rima heard Nagihiko's voice. "Rim – Mashiro-san!"

She put down the book, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" he laughed sheepishly. "I wanted to see if you were going to be here, I guess?"

"Cool. Oh, and by the way, you still owe me fifteen thousand yen," she said casually.

Nagihiko's eyes widened. "You still remember that?" he asked, feeling incredulous. It was just a pizza!

"Well… maybe I can make an exception and spare you your money. But in return, you have to do something for me." Rima smiled at the look on his face.

Perfect.

"What is it?"

"I want you to come here. Every day, after school. Stay for just a few minutes, and then you can go."

He stared at her. And stared. And stared. And stared, and stared, and stared. "Why?"

She ignored him. "Or you can tell me Nadeshiko's weaknesses."

"_What?_"

"It shouldn't be any problem, right? You're her twin, and according to you, you hate her. So you have three choices: give me the money, or come here every day, or tell me Nadeshiko's weaknesses."

"I have no idea what her weaknesses are. I mean, we don't exactly have deep twin heart-to-heart talks," Nagihiko lied frantically.

"Then find out."

Then, he thought of something. "And besides, I don't have to do any of these. I can just not give you the money _or_ her secrets, _and_ not come here."

And then she dropped the bomb.

"Then I'll tell Amu you like her."

The words hit Nagihiko like a bullet. His acting skills immediately left him; he began gaping like a fish, unable to speak. Finally, he stammered out, "How –"

Rima tried not to smirk. (And failed miserably.) "Your, quote, 'best friend' told me."

"What? Souma?"

"Yes."

"Mashiro-san, I can't pay you fifteen thousand yen."

"You're pretty slow, aren't you? If you can't pay me, then either come here every day or tell me Nadeshiko's secrets. I said that already."

No, he couldn't let her do that. "Then I'll tell Nadeshiko you're jealous of her."

Rima flinched; she hadn't been expecting that. Brain racing, she realized the only thing she could do now was: bluff. "Okay," she replied, staring at him levelly.

Nagihiko blinked. _Huh?_

After a few seconds of them staring at each other, he sighed. "Fine."

"Which one?"

"I'll come. Every day, for… how long again?"

"Until I dismiss you."

_I feel like her slave. _"Can I be dismissed? For today?" He felt pathetic.

"Okay."

He turned, grateful, and was about to leave the place as fast as he could when Rima called, "Wait!"

_Ugh. _"Yeah?"

"Your hair's shorter."

_Oops. _"Well, Nadeshiko came home with her hair shorter, and she didn't tell me why in the world she'd cut it, but she wanted me to cut it to the exact same length so we would still look like twins."

Rima's eyes narrowed considerably as she glared at him suspiciously. He began to sweat.

Finally, she let it go. "Oh, and also, I lured you here so we could make this deal. Souma-san told me you'd come, to check if I were here." Without waiting for his reaction, she stood up and walked away, leaving him with one thought, and one thought only.

_Kukai, you're dead._

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, first of all, I'm going to make a lame excuse for the pure badness (yes, it's a word) of this chapter, and that is: I typed this entire thing on an iPhone. It's a sucky excuse, and most likely <em>nobody<em> will spare me because of it, but at least it's an excuse. (I used to think, like most people do now, that excuses were bad things, but then I thought, hey, if I don't do whatever I'm supposed to do, I might as well have something to explain it with, right?) So tell me if there are any grammar mistakes, plotholes, horrible description, plain _bad_ storytelling skills, etc. Because there will be some, guaranteed. I don't care if it's just a comma, or an extra space, or whatever. Tell me, so I can fix it (on the computer, where I can actually type at a speed of more than 20 words per minute).**

**Yeah, I bet you're all wondering why the #!*% Rima wants Nagihiko to come to the park every day. (It still seems awkward to me after reading it ten times, and I'm the one who wrote it.) Well… you'll find out. So don't ask. **

** I knew from the start that I was going to make Rima cut Nagihiko's hair, so the main question was: Should I make it shorter than canon at the end and canon at the beginning, or longer than canon at the beginning and canon at the end? (That didn't make any sense, did it?) So I chose the latter, so basically, Nagihiko's hair length now is what it looks like in the anime/manga (waist-length). Before, it was longer (knee-length). And I can't believe that I just devoted an entire paragraph to explaining Nagihiko's hair length. I'm getting weird.**

**On a completely irrelevant note, have you noticed that my "previews" tend to be taken from the end of the next chapter? Yeah, that's because of my need for cliffhangers. Or at least half-cliffhangers.**

**Anyway, that's all, so… bye. Yeah.**

* * *

><p><em>Preview:<em>

_He noticed that Rima's expression had changed, and immediately realized he shouldn't have said that. "Wait – I'm sorry –"_

_Her eyes were clouded with anger. "I'm going," she hissed through clenched teeth. She stood up and ran, eyes blurring with tears, thinking, _He's wrong, he's wrong, he's wrong…

_He was right._


	13. Squishing Black Bodies

Kukai's exact words were, "I'm sorry. Don't kill me."

Nagihiko's exact words were, "Why not?"

The latter was sitting on his bed, still fuming at the former. "You told my worst enemy who I liked, knowing full well that she was most likely going to use it against me. And you're supposed to be my best friend."

"I'm sorry! I had no idea you owed her fifteen thousand yen!"

"I didn't owe her fifteen thousand yen! She just said that, and what other reason would she have calling you other than blackmailing me?"

"Look, I'll make it up to you somehow, but it's your fault you got her pissed, okay? She asked me, I answered her. It's also your fault you decided to willingly start dressing as a girl again, all for Amu, and let yourself get into a load of trouble."

"I don't regret dressing as a girl to go to Amu's school _at all_, and we aren't talking about that. We're talking about whose fault it is that I now have to waste ten minutes of my life every day to satisfy Rima Mashiro."

"I keep telling you, I'm sorry. I have to go now. I lost in rock-paper-scissors, and I have to go buy my brothers a bunch of random stuff."

"Wait, I'm not done with –"

Kukai hung up, leaving Nagihiko feeling exasperated, to say the least. But the conversation also made him think a little.

_"It's your fault you got her pissed."_

What Nagihiko had said after that was true – he didn't regret anything. But now he had to think: _What's the point of all this? _Ruining Rima, embarrassing her… those things wouldn't gain Amu's affection. It was like he'd lost sight of his goal.

What _was_ his goal, even? To spend time with Amu? So he'd technically accomplished his goal. Now he was with Amu, but he'd gained a new enemy. What next? Was his new goal to ruin someone he would never have met if he "hadn't decided to cross-dress"? And what was the point of that? What was the point of this entire fight they were having?

It was pride, he decided. Before he'd met Rima, he hadn't even realized that pride meant so much to him (besides the little things like looking elegant in public, table manners, and such). Rima was fighting for Amu. He had Amu (well, _Nadeshiko_ had Amu, not him), so he was fighting for pride. He was still going to carry on his plan tomorrow.

With that, Nagihiko pushed one nagging thought out of his mind.

_Am I going to lie to Amu forever?_

* * *

><p><em>Ants.<em>

In her shock, Rima couldn't even muster the energy to shriek as she stared at the little black insects swarming all over her P.E. uniform. Then, she sprang into action. Thanking a deity she had never believed in that she had left her bag lunch from yesterday at school, she slammed her P.E. locker shut, ran out all the way to her normal one, and pulled out the empty paper bag. After reaching her ant-infested one again, she gingerly picked up the uniform, using the bag as a glove, and tossed it in the trash.

There. She'd ask her parents to buy her a new one later, saying she'd lost her old one. They'd be mad, yes, but either way, they had to agree.

Now for her locker. Trying to act normal in front of the other girls (they weren't even paying attention to her, but still), she painstakingly squished each and every little black body until she was sure it was dead. And she wiped her locker over and over again. By the time she was done, she was late.

In the end, Rima forged a sick note and made up an excuse even she couldn't remember. And it was just as well, because she wouldn't have been able to remember it anyway. She was too busy thinking of what to say to Nadeshiko.

The only one who could have done this.

* * *

><p>Rima caught up with Nadeshiko as she was leaving her next class. "How could you?" she hissed.<p>

Nadeshiko blinked. "How could I… what?"

"You know perfectly well what. Someone put ants in my P.E. locker."

Her eyes widened. "Who would do that?"

"You!"

She gave a little gasp, stumbling backward. "Rima-chan, I would never do something like that! How could you say that? Why would I do that to you?" She paused. "Do you need help cleaning your locker? It must be completely ruined. I'll help you, if you want."

Rima's eyes narrowed. Right. She'd forgotten that Nadeshiko was too much of a goody-goody to do something like that. For a tiny moment, she felt guilty, but she immediately pushed it away. "No need," she said dismissively. "And don't call me Rima-chan."

Rima left.

Nagihiko let out a little sigh of relief. Well, his newfound acting skills hadn't totally given up on him… yet.

* * *

><p>"Hey."<p>

So he hadn't been tricked. So Rima was actually there. "Hi, Mashiro-san," he said, a little awkwardly.

"Sit."

He sat. "Um… what do I do?"

There was a short silence as Rima pondered this. She had to lead him into the subject, and the quicker the better… "Ants."

"Huh?" He flinched, and immediately cursed his body for doing so.

She smiled at the look on his face. "So she did."

"Wait, what –"

"The ants. It's easy to tell from the look on your face. You knew about it, right?"

_Oh, stupid, stupid acting skills. _He decided that the best way to go was to defend Nadeshiko."Yeah, I did, but you cut her hair."

"Thought you hated her."

Why did she keep using that against him? "I do, but it's kind of unfair, isn't it? I mean, you can't do something to someone and expect them not to retaliate at all."

Rima had been wrong. Nadeshiko wasn't a goody-goody, and apparently, neither was Nagihiko. "Nadeshiko Fujisaki stole my best friend. You can't expect _me_ not to retaliate."

"What about Amu-chan? If Amu-chan spends more time with Nadeshiko, that means she likes her more than you. Nadeshiko didn't steal Amu-chan. Amu willingly went over to Nadeshiko, and if you steal Amu back, you're destroying their friendship. Have you thought about that? That you might be hurting Amu too? The one you call your best friend?"

He noticed that Rima's expression had changed, and immediately realized he shouldn't have said that. "Wait – I'm sorry –"

Her eyes were clouded with anger. "I'm going," she hissed through clenched teeth. She stood up and ran, eyes blurring with tears, thinking,_He's wrong, he's wrong, he's wrong…_

He was right.

* * *

><p><strong>AWKWARD. I just realized that this story is really, really OOC, but the damage is already done, so I guess I'll keep it that way. And I'm sorry for not updating in so long. Guess I'll have to run through the list of excuses, and find one that fits.<strong>

**Excuse: I was really busy updating my other stories. They're called Vanished and Switching, and they both involve action-/drama-filled plots (not really… more like random-stuff-that-could-only-come-out-of-my-amazing-head-and-two-billion-others'-filled LOL), which people seem to like nowadays as opposed to plain romance (I think. I'm no expert on what people like in stories), and they're WAY more popular than this story (the unit of popularity measurement I use is RPC, or reviews per chapter), so yeah, basically it's your fault you didn't review.**

**WTEII (why this excuse is invalid): I haven't updated those stories in weeks, and this story is actually EXACTLY as popular as Vanished when the unit of popularity measurement is FAAPS, which is "favorites and alerts per story", which is actually a much better measurement unit than RPC. I just really want reviews.**

**Excuse: School was killing me.**

**WTEII: It wasn't.**

**Excuse: I actually have a life now.**

**WTEII: I don't.**

**Excuse: I've started reading SC fanfiction instead of writing it.**

**WTEII: The fanfiction in the Shugo Chara archive still really really sucks, no matter how much I try to deny it, so I should be writing more instead of reading to help it get better. Because yes, some of the stories actually suck worse than mine (believe it or not).**

**Excuse: One of my friends invited me over to her house last week, and came to mine the day before.**

**WTEII: Wait, why did I even write that? Oh, right, to see if that friend is actually reading this, or if she blocked fanfiction from her email, because she still has this story on alerts and hasn't removed it yet, although she supposedly never goes on fanfiction anymore *coughcoughCrystalcoughcough***

**Excuse: I forgot what was supposed to go in this chapter, so I had to rethink the scene.**

**WTEII: Why didn't you write it when you still remembered, you idiot? (Talking to myself here. Ignore me.)**

**Basically smash all these invalid excuses into one, and there you go. I would come up with more, but this author's note is getting too long.**

**About the actual chapter: I know it's really short and choppy and badly-written and overall just disappointing, but bear with me, okay? I haven't updated this story in a long time, and… (Insert approximately twenty more invalid excuses here)**

**The preview is short because (insert fifteen invalid excuses here).**

**Bye, and please review!**

* * *

><p><em>Preview:<em>

_"Amu," Rima snapped, losing her patience altogether. "Listen to me. Now."_

_"Yeah, yeah – did you see that? Nadeshiko scored another goal! She's so good!"_

_Her patience plummeted into the negative numbers. "I can't stand Nadeshiko anymore! I hate her!"_


End file.
